Anti: Sierra Club Pushes Anti-trapping Agenda

Posted on April 5, 2012

The Sierra Club taskforce has proposed adopting a formal anti-trapping policy for the organization at the national level. Under the proposal, the Sierra Club would oppose the use of conibear traps, leghold traps, snares and all similar body-gripping, restraining, and kill traps. A member’s online comment period on the proposal recently ended.

The Sierra Club draft policy states:

Draft Policy on Wildlife Trapping

Use of body-gripping devices – including leghold traps, snares, and Conibear® traps – are indiscriminate to age, sex and species and typically result in injury, pain, suffering, and/or death of target and non-target animals.

The Sierra Club considers body-gripping, restraining and killing traps and snares to be ecologically indiscriminate and unnecessarily inhumane and therefore opposes their use.

The Sierra Club promotes and supports humane, practical and effective methods of mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and actively discourages the use of inhumane and indiscriminate methods. Implementation and application of this policy should be based on the most recent and relevant science and should minimize harm to ecosystems.

This new proposal shouldn’t be a shock to sportsmen. Despite claiming for years that it is a pro-hunting organization, the Sierra Club and its local chapters have opposed pro-hunting or trapping initiatives across the country. Its online magazine has even run a story supporting the efforts of Born Free U.S.A., an avid anti-trapping organization.

Now the Sierra Club is looking for support from its members to establish a written nationwide anti-trapping policy. The results of the poll will be “reviewed” by a new six member National Task Force appointed by the Sierra Club Board. The Task Force has been charged with drafting a policy regarding the use of trapping devices.

If the proposal is adopted, it will be no surprise to sportsmen if the Sierra Club ramps up its anti-trapping efforts.