Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-01-28
TRAPPING Wild ANIMALS
Necessary TO XIII Them liI Off I:... III d
Many Sections Of the Country. & &
Wild ANIMAL RANCHES THRIVING:
ViVisection of Animals Saves Thouss:;23
ands Of Human Lives Each Year; anrr:z:;
Foxes and Other Animals Would!
Make Life Hard for Farmer if Not
Kept Down. -. IL :z.S;#Slss;; S;#Slss;
(By>Fredericle J.: Haskin,). =

(By>Fredericle j: Haskin.) N!i5i2 Sssa. 8:
Washington, D. C.-.-Much attention
was attracted recently by a cartoon
which depicted fashionable woman
clad in furs, caught in a steel trap5:
and dragging herself painfully across
the snow. \. -. ~ Is q
The'implication was of course, that
the trapping of fur-bearing animals sts3i
cruel business; that each woman
who wears fur is a party to- 1t, and;
that she ought, therefore, to be put ,in$?ss
a steel trap herself in order to learnt;
what it feels like. z :24sttfs.tsis. ~ s,stI
This is the kind Of sentimentaityts g
that still makes hit witht:a .larges
part of the American public; despite
the fact that it is as alien to. common
sense and the facts Of the casef as as.
nightmare. It is in the same class
with the persistent attack on theh use
of living animals, for scientific sexpet-t
iment, which involves the sacrifice sof !;
their lives. The prevention, Of this
use of animals in the preparation OF
seruns and anti-toxins alone would
cost thousands of human 'livessthes 4
firstryear it went into effect "; ;ss:flSS5
The fallacy underlying all of: these
sentimentalities about the, killing COT.
the lower animals consists in the ails44;
ure to recognize the, fact that Smanstl
is carniverous animal who lives; ;b3fs
killing, and whose only alternatives.
is to be killed himself, directly or fin--ss5;
directly It is our inevitable destiny;
as the. species of mammal which dosf
inmates the iearth, to kill all otllerEl liy-H$
ing things in order to maintain that
domination.s 9. And it is our. duty ass;
civilized men to kill as scleaniy: and
.painlessly as we can. But the Asentt;sss:,
mentality which shrinks in horror
from killing is a symptom of race {de-sf
generation. The sentimentaHsts who !:
would abolish all killing, live :ouly$ bys'
the protection of those who are not {
so squeamish. If we all became Ssenz
tilnentalists. on the, subject, the race
would soon disappear off the face of
the earth. AT least it would Aif eshWesst
stdrN- to our & sentimentalitg. &
matter Of fact, we, would iprobabl RES
vert to savagery and recover our lust
for blood. ~.
Is Trapping Necessary? 445S
It may be objected that while killing
in general is undoubtedly NECESSARY
the cruel form Of killing represented !,
by the catching Of animals, in steel: |:
traps is not necessary. But as mat;
ter of fact it remains necessary until I
some other equally effective and more
humane way Of killing these creatures
is discovered. And not primarily be-,
cause we need their fur, either The I
fur problem is rapidly being solved by I!
the raising Of fur-bearing animals In
captivity. Already ranch raised fox
and skunk furs are standard comnlo-5j
dities, and great variety Of other
fur bearing animals are being raised
in small put growing plumbers. ,Thei$
ranch raised fur Is better in quality.I
than the wild fur, and 1t is bound to
improve enormously as the methods
Of selective breeding ARE applied to. !!
these creatures. Consider what man
has done with the dog, producing from
one of two parent stocks a great var
icty Of creatures, varying In size.
form, color and coat There is no
.feason TO doubt that some of the fur.
bearers will be equally improved. The
fur farmer will put the trapper out
of business. The trappcr will no more )
be able TO compete with him than a 3
man with shotgun could compete as !
food producer with the owner of q i
well-stocked poultry farm. "a.
Fur will then be produced humane
ly, at least in appearance. If given
his choice, the fox would rather run
wild and be trapped than live in pen
all his life and be drowned in buck- $
ct. But at least there is nothing
about fur farming to outrage the sem
timentalists.
Animals Must Be Killed.
The trouble is that the trapping will
have to go right on. If trappers inp
almost every county in the United :
States did not wage ceaseless war on.
The predatory animals, no sort Of:
stock raising would be possible any
where. These animals, unchecked
would reach an astounding abundance,
It would be as impossible to raise (,
chickens in an ordinary farming
community as it is now to raise them
! in complete wilderness. Already the
/ taxpayers of the nation, cooperating !
with those OF number of western
state: are maintaining little army
of government trappers to keep down; !;
the coyotes. wolves and panthers In,
the west. When the private trappers
60 out of business. as they probably
will, it will be necessary to extend+ {
this army enormously. The foxes.
skunls. racoons and weasels would
make life Just as hard for the FARM
cr in tic cast rs the larger beasts do,
in the west were they not kept down.
How Trappers Work.
Perhaps the scntimentalists who