Florida Trappers & Fur Hunters Association January 2010 Report

President — Cody Sikes, 27020 Old Trilby Rd., Brooksville, FL 34602; phone: 352-398-5945; e-mail: southernlandservices01@yahoo.com
 

Vice President — Bill Crowder, P.O. Box 510, Madison, FL 32341; phone: 850-973-6540; e-mail: wildbillc@shareinet.net

Secretary/Treasurer — Carol Lokken, 7047 Spinnaker Blvd., Englewood, FL 34224; phone: 941-475-1206; e-mail: beachbum5253@comcast.net

NTA Director — George Dykhuizen, 8110 Casa De Meadows Dr., Englewood, FL 34224; phone: 941-697-7634; e-mail: principal1@embarqmail.com

www.FloridaTrappers.org

Membership Options

• Family membership, including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Associate membership (without magazine) — $15
• Lifetime membership (without magazine) — $100
• Lifetime membership with two year subscription — $125

Complete membership application on first page of association section, and send dues to:

Carol Lokken
7047 Spinnaker Blvd.
Englewood, FL 34224

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Hello fellow trappers! I am sure most of you have been setting traps out for a while now. Down here in sunny Florida, it is still pretty warm. My raccoon meat buyers are ready to start buying, so I have started setting for the meat market. The hides are still a little blue, but they should be ready soon. I am putting them up mostly for fun; we will see what this year’s market will be for our southern furs.

I have lined up some pretty good land to run my small lines on. I look forward to trying to catch my first bobcat and otter this year. I have been invited to a deer and quail hunting club to help manage their predator population, plan on going up for a week in January and trying for the bobcat. I hope all of you are having a good season so far, hopefully the market will pan out and we can at least help pay the gas bill!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas! Good trapping and stay safe!

— Cody L. Sikes

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

I hope a safe and joyous holiday season was enjoyed by all. I am looking forward to a great new year ahead. My fellow trappers and friends this is the 21st century and we have huge organizations and enemies out there who would love to put a stop to trapping, hunting and fishing. These organizations are growing bigger and bigger by the day. These animal rights groups have millions of dollars to spend and they will do just that to put a stop to trapping, hunting, etc.

NEVER underestimate the power of misinformed people in large numbers. In order to combat these organizations as effectively as we possibly can, we need more members in our Florida Trapper and Fur Hunters Association.

Our organization and both of the national trappers associations includes magazines with their memberships. If we can recruit more members then we can get more magazines out so the general public will become more informed. I want to challenge our members to recruit at least one member. But don’t stop at one, keep on recruiting. They are out there, all we have to do is find them — farmers, hunting clubs, plantations, fishermen, hunters, nuisance wildlife removal businesses, etc. The list goes on and on. We need to educate people on what we are all about.

We need the support of these people so the hunters, trappers and sportsmen of this country can retain our rights. Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

— Bill Crowder

ASSOCIATION NEWS

We want to thank Lonnie Stone for helping promote the Florida Trappers and Fur Hunters Association at the Munson Community Heritage Festival at the Black River State Forest on Oct. 10 and 11. He reported that it was helpful to let people see what real (not fake) fur is like.

Many comment about how they were surprised at the many types of fur of animals we have in our area. Most were very supportive of trappers after they were told about why animals are harvested and how plentiful they are in our area. Many new people are now “pro” trapping after seeing the true story of how and why animals are caught and used.

We have a suggestion from Vic Marshall for a fundraiser. He is asking that each of our active trappers donate five raccoon pelts to be sold at the fur auction. We are in the process of coordinating this effort. So a heads up to you ’coon trappers, please set five pelts aside and we’ll have more information as to who to get them to, where and when.

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Happy New Year y’all. We hope you had a holiday season filled with family and friends, peace and joy. And our wishes for everyone are a healthy and happy 2010.

Here in FL, it’s trapping season. And we hope that all our active fur trappers are doing well. Hunting season is still open as well and I know y’all are still out there as well. Best of luck on all fronts!

As you have read in our Officer’s comments, fur prices are still dismal. But please don’t let that discourage you. Florida is ripe for the nuisance trapping market. Coyotes have become a major problem throughout the state. You can choose to pursue them through the Class II license program or as nuisance removal. The presence of raccoons and armadillos in our suburban neighborhoods is growing and this can be an opportunity to make some money and remove these critters.

As our Vice President said, it’s time to step it up and get more involved. We need to be a strong voice in our communities. Sign up a new member. Remember, we still have our gift card incentive. The more members you sign up, the bigger the pay off on the card! We also encourage you to promote the FL Trappers Association. We will gladly provide any of our members with our banner and promotional materials if you want to man a booth at your local “Old Home Days/Pioneer Days/Woodsman Festival/etc. This is a prime opportunity to educate the public on our organization and what trapping is really all about.

Anyone wanting more information about membership, manning a booth or information in general, feel free to contact any of our officers. We’re here to help!

— Carol Lokken

NTA DIRECTOR’S REPORT

The National Trappers Association continues with its efforts to support trappers.

Present activity includes: lobbying in Washington, D.C. to protect trapping from negative legislation; representing trappers and their interests through the BMP (or best management practices); engaging in legal battles in Maine (black bears) and Minnesota (lynx) against animal-rights organizations; representing trappers nationwide at conservation-oriented conferences; providing support for affiliates to defend and protect trapping rights against negative legislation; working successfully to control import fees on fur garments coming into the country and controlling export fees on the raw furs being sold to other nations.

If you want to help support this kind of activity, you can by simply joining the National Trappers Association. All you have to do is send a $30 check (or your credit card number) to: National Trappers Association, 2815 Washington Ave., Bedford, IN 47421.

— George Dykhuizen

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