MORE ABOUT CONSERVATION by Ralph Bice October 24, 1973
Some time soon I expect perhaps a number of people to suggest that I stop finding too much fault with some items that appear in the daily and weekly papers. As long as there appears so many articles off the mark pertaining to the outdoors I will continue to find fault. It would not be so bad if the writers would find out some of the facts they were writing about.
Grey Owl, born Archie Belaney, did write some very fine books on the outdoors and I believe his books are printed in several languages. He was of course a trapper who had lived a number of years with the Indians around Temagami; in fact in his later years he was more of an Indian than the native people themselves.
At the time he was trapping the set up was not nearly as good as it is now for taking fur bearing animals. Trapping zones had not been heard of and while, in a lot of cases, trapping grounds were respected by other trappers it was perfectly legal for a man with a trapper’s license to trap anywhere on Crown Lands. The result was that there was not too much thought of catching “as much fur as the area would stand and leave plenty of animals to keep the grounds well stocked.”
By his own statements he suddenly discovered that trapping was bad. Believe he found some baby beaver whose mother had been caught in a trap and these were the animals that he raised and kept as pets. He was of course then trapping and did not explain that he was trapping beaver some weeks after the close of the regular season, if indeed there was any season at that time. He did get to be very fond of his beaver pets and it is to his credit that he turned to writing for by so doing he provided a lot of entertainment for a great many people.
I believe it is not uncommon for any person who has had a lot to do with any type of wild animal to become sort of attached to them and this may be the reason this man was so much against trapping.
An Aside – I once met Lloyd Cook the head of the Ontario Trappers Association who raised a beaver kit. Whenever he attended a meeting the pet beaver would accompany him. During the meeting it would wander about inspecting the new surroundings. This trapper also raised two Arctic fox and had a fenced enclosure at his house near Barrie, Ontario. His wife insisted that he build them a fox house for shelter during the winter even though he explained that they were Arctic fox. So, he built the houses and they never once stepped inside. (Y.T.)
I have read several times about what a great conservationist Grey Owl was. The meaning of ‘conservation’ as given by Mr. Webster does not mean that animals should not be taken. Only that means and ways be established to ensure that there would be plenty of these creatures left for following generations. Grey Owl’s theory was not along these lines. All he preached was to stop trapping.
At the time of his conversion fur bearing animals were about at their lowest point that many of us can recall. Trappers themselves knew that something had to be done and were asking for some sort of set up where they would know each year where they were going to trap and they could make certain there would always be fur and other trappers would not be bothering their lines if they decided to leave plenty of stock. It took ten years of talking and trying to explain the benefits of such a plan but in 1943 such a system was set up. The take of fur bearing animals is increasing each year and this in spite of heavy trapping. The zoning system has proven to be so successful in Ontario that other provinces and indeed a section of the States are thinking of adopting our ideas. While the Department must be given full credit for the help they gave trappers the idea came from the trappers and if they had not worked to keep it going it might not have been so good. So it is hard to think of Grey Owl as a conservationist when all he advocated was to stop trapping.
Those trappers who insisted on zones, even if it was to their own benefit, did far more to ensure that there would always be plenty of fur bearing animals. No one remembers who they were and they will never be recognized but as l mentioned before trappers are the only real conservationists.
