Disposal of carcasses

[fabsroman]

I ran into a pretty big problem today. Last weekend, I was goose hunting on a farm where a lot of guys have permission to hunt. I found a fox in a trap in the middle of a cut soybean field/replanted wheat field. At first, I thought the fox was merely caught on something, but once I got to within 10 yards of it, I could tell it was a trap. I left it alone because I figured that the trapper had permission to trap on the property.

Today, I received a telephone call from the landowner because he found 13 dead, skinned, fox carcasses in a hedge row today. The fact that a deer was dead and rotting in another hedge row last weekend didn't help matters out.

Well, it turns out that the landowner had not given the trapper permission, and he was pretty mad about the trapping because he does not approve of the wasteful killing of animals (i.e., he is fine with killing animals for food). He was pissed at me for not telling him about this last weekend, but after I explained that I thought the guy had permission, he calmed down a little. Naturally, he asked me if I approved of this stuff, and I danced around the subject because I don't really have an opinion on it.

How do you guys dispose of your carcasses? Does leaving them in a hedge row on a farm make sense?

[multibeard]

Fabs ----First off the trespasser was not a trapper. HE IS A POACHER.

As far as the disposal of carcasses goes it can be a problem. I was fortunate to have 40 acres to dispose of them on. I simply took them to the center of the 40 and left them for the crows possum and other critters.

Disposing of them on someones property with out permission is worse than trespassing.

As a cute side note, my neighbors across the road let there dogs run all the time. I couldn't figure out where all the beaver carcasses were going to from the carcass pit.

That was until I saw one of the mutts dragging a huge beaver carcass home past my barn. The rest of the season I made it easier on myself and the dog too. I simply put them behind the barn. I can imagine what there yard looked like in the spring with a bunch of chewed up carcasses laying around.

[GoodOlBoy]

I agree he was a poacher. Second no I don't just leave carcasess laying around particularly on other peoples property. In east Texas there is a pretty good market for possum and coon meat. Rabbit and Squirrel I will eat myself. Fox, coyote makes good draws for more fox/coyote. In the end if I am on somebody elses land or if I have just had a good year and I have too many carcasses I will pile them and burn them.

Leaving them in a pit in the middle of your own land is an option, if you don't have a problem drawing more critters (Wild dogs, yotes, etc) Some folks bury them. I dont like digging, particularly since if I bury them too shallow the wild dogs and yotes will just dig them back up.

GoodOlBoy

[Trapper7]

I have two solutions for the disposal of carcasses. I have a farmer who is also a hunter. He has several large rock piles on the edges of a couple of his fields. He lets me dump carcasses there. They attract coyotes, fox, and other predators providing him with about a 200 yard shot. He usually gives them to me when he gets one.

I also have an outside wood boiler stove that I heat my house with. It also serves as a crematory for some of my skun carcasses.

[Duffy]

He was a poacher, plain and simple. Inexcusable.

I have permission to dispose of carcasses on the private land on which I also have permission to hunt, just six minutes from my house. The landowner has a low area where carcasses can go. And therefore where coyotes can be hunted!

[Skyline]

I dispose of the carcasses on my own property. Some are used as bait, others are put in a pit and I can tell you that the ravens make short work of these. All beaver carcasses are retained and used for bear bait during the spring and fall seasons.

[catdaddy]

put um in a pit, put gas on them and light it

[buckhunter]

Always bothered me when I found carcasses on someone else's land. I suspect being in apretty urban area I would dispose of them in the trash. If it was on land that I could dispose them on, they could become yote bait,

[Skyline]

Buckhunter..............unfortunately most jurisdictions will not allow you to dispose of carcasses in the trash. Most landfill sites will not take them either.

Farmers/ranchers run into this problem a lot as well and it is a BIG problem for them. Since the BSE problem occured there are few if any disposal trucks that come to pick up carcasses of dead livestock........as most of the old rendering plants had to change what they could take and use.

Most provinces and states have regulations that require dead livestock to be buried, cremated or composted.......few allow for natural disposal (drag it in the bush and let the coyotes and birds have it). So......I will use me as a case in point.......if I have a cow die I have to bury it (costly to get a backhoe in to dig a hole for a cow, not to mention the ground is frozen until may), cremate it (I would have to truck the animal about 90 miles to the closest facility that could handle a cow......not to mention it would cost a lot to have it done) or develop a compost site to bury the animal in soil and sawdust and keep turning it as it rots, then eventually get a spreader in to spread it and work it back into the land. All time consuming and expensive.

It sure was a lot easier when the 'bone truck' would just stop in on his rounds and pick it up. :(

[Lilred]

The other problem i see with that whole thing....is that you got within 10 yards of the trap and iffin it wont fer the fox already in it...you mighta been in his position. :eek:

If it apparently wont marked...he sure aint want nobody to see it.

[fabsroman]

Lilred,

If that trap ended up catching me, there would be hell to pay. I would be packing breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day to see who checked the trap, and I would be sending my dad to the local Bass Pro Shop to buy some game cameras too. Oh, you can bet I would have been one pissed off guy.

At first, I thought the fox was just dead in the middle of the field. So, I started walking toward it to look at it. Then, I saw it move a little, so I started creeping toward it so that I could get a shot on it. It continued to lay flat down and stare right at me, and I have never seen a fox do that before, so I knew something was up. Finally, it got up and tried to run and that is when I saw that it was caught on something. I had Nitro with me, so I didn't want to get too close to it at that time. After we finished goose hunting, I went to check it out with Nitro in the truck. That is when I finally saw the trap.

[Skyline]

fabs........I take it this fox was in a leg hold trap?

[fabsroman]

Yep, it was a leg hold trap. Does that mean it shouldn't have been marked? I know absolutely nothing about trapping.

[Skyline]

I have no idea what the law is where you were for marking traps.

What I was getting at is if it was a leghold trap, which it apparently was, the normal size of trap used for fox would not injure you i you stepped on it. I say on it as you could not get your foot in it.

I could stick my hand in a legal leghold trap for fox and it would not injure me.

[Lilred]

well i tell ya....here..it is law to mark all traps AND it is law that you mark your traps with tags w/ name/addy.

Dont want nobody suein me over steppin in that trap....
point bein...wether you "think" you can't get caught in a leg trap er not...if the possibility exists you might lose a dollar or jail time...you'll dam well mark those traps.
Iffin ya'll wanna test out that theory on yerselves wether a leg hold trap would injure you er not, ya'll go right ahead...lol

[multibeard]

Red

I have snapped a lot of # 1 1/2 coil springs on my hand when I used to put on trapping demonstrations

Are you saying that the area that has a trap set in it must be marked some way telling that a trap is set there? I under stand having a tag showing ownership, like we do in Michigan, on the trap self but marking a set location would only be inviting some one to steal your traps.

The big marsh trappers around here have flagging on there long trap stakes in order to be able to find there sets and also to let the other trappers know what area has already been set. It has also cost some trappers a bunch of traps when a thief has gone thru and stole there fur and traps when they weren't around.

Fabs

A standard fox trap, 1 1/2 coil is maybe 4 inches across. While at a hearing on an anti trapping bill in Lansing one time an anti busted a pencil in one. The president of the trappers assn went up and stuck his hand in the same rap with no injury. He got the legislators attention and the bill never got out of committee.

[fabsroman]

Could a trap like that hurt my dog, a 100 lb yellow lab? I would guess not because that fox didn't look too hurt, but I also didn't do a physical on it.

[Skyline]

fabs, that size of trap would not hurt your dog. I have had my dogs get caught in coyote size traps and they were not hurt.
He might yelp and jump but that would be more from surprise than anything.

Lilred.............as has been stated putting a sign up to mark location just gives the anti-trappers an easy target. Thankfully that is not a requirement where I live. If you are on private property then you have to have permission to be there in the first place. Most trappers have a working relationship with the landowners and tell them where the traps are set.

There will always be idiots and trespassers unfortunately.

[Lilred]

It is required on certain national forest lands only, not private lands. I had to read up on it to make sure I wont fibbin and it looks like i was....sorta lol
They dont require metal tags for landowners either.

The stealin thing aint to bad here i reckon cause alot of folks mark their traps. Big er small, I wouldnt want in one and I appreciatte the fact that they take the time to mark em.
But, there's bad apples in every bushel fer sure...caint say I ever had a trap stolen...yet anyways.....but just like grant winnin the war tween the states...there's a first time fer everything i reckon ;)