Saskatchewan Trapping Course
 

Kudos to all putting this on!!



We are Hosting another SASKATCHEWAN TRAPPERS COURSE at WILDSIDE OUTDOORS in lloydminster on Sunday October 28th from 9am-5pm.
The cost of the course is $30 per person and must be paid at time of registration in order for the instructor to order the right amount of manuals .
Please contact Crystal at crystal@wildsideoutdoors.ca
Or call/text (780)872-2454
Donuts and coffee will be provided by Wildside Outdoors and Lunch will be provided by GMACK Oilfield services !

Dave
 

This will get old Dave going. Can’t Waite for the ranting

Do any in Alberta?

Maybe you should rant about SK Trappers promoting trapping and making it accessible to everyone over making it a source of revenue.
Can’t wait to hear it.

Here,here!

Price sounds good. Affordable for all.

If I take a course in Saskatchewan, does that enable me to buy a licence in Alberta?

I have friends that came from the east and having to prove that he trapped there, did not have to rewrite here...but that may have just a nice F&W person...just a couple of yrs back..

Good question Marty. Curious to what F&W has to say.

The Saskatchewan trappers course issued you guys bring up are not what it appears.

First off, the reason for the "cheap" course is because the Ministry subsidizes the course. All milegae, hall rentals and instructors expenses are paid for by the province. The Fish and Wildlife Development Fund (Habitat Certificate) that all hunters buy covers those costs.

Secondly, the trapper education certificate in Saskatchewan is woefully inadequate. All Saskatchewan residents have the opportunity to challenge the exam without taking a course of any type. You simply go to your local Minustry office, pay $25 for a manual (optional) and write a test. You write the test once a day until you pass. Then you have a trapping licence. Or you can take the trapping course such as the one advertised on this post. The one day course consists of nothing more than the students sitting in a classroom setting and go through theory only. There may be a small amount of skinning demonstrated to which none of the students partake in. There is very little to any trap setting instruction either. It's an 8 hour course of theory and a test at the end. This course costs $30 per student.

There is a 2 day trapping course occurring in Saskatchewan but has been met with alot ot resistance from many.

Thirdly, because of the inadequate training and ability to challenge the exam, NO other provinces except Manitoba (which also offers a challenge exam) will acknowledge a Saskatchewan trapping licence. Anyone taking a Saskatchewan course or challenging the exam MUST retake the entire course in all other jurisdictions except Manitoba
So the short answer is no you cannot take the "cheap" course in Saskatchewan and hope it translates to another province.

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. The Saskatchewan course is a joke, and I write this as a certified instructor in Saskatchewan. There is a huge pushback from most people to keep with the status quo and keep the format the same.

As a trapper I find it VERY disrespectful to the animals and the trapping industry to allow uneducated trappers in the field. The "thinking" is that after a student passes the course it's up to them to seek out a mentor. Many of the students do not know anyone and seek out any help they can get, many times from books and videos from the USA that are not up to Canadian standards. I field literally hundreds of questions a year from Saskatchewan students that took the course and have no clue what to really do in the field.

So in summary, which course do you want the next generation of trappers to take? A challenge exam or one day theory course for $30 or the courses offered in other jurisdictions that mandate a 3+ day course where students are actually trained in the modern trapping methods???

Thanks for sharing! I know I’d want the 3 day course and glad I did even though I had taken the challenge exam when Alberta had it. It was a joke.... but at least we have good courses and workshops now to help people learn.

Oh Ryan... I was just being facetious! But thanks for the learn-ed detail! I think that deserves some more Caribou! (As in icky Caribou lager... private joke!)

I want everybody to take the Alberta course, and truthfully, I am leaning towards thinking every AB trapper would benefit from the 1 day Alberta snare course as well, especially Davey!

In fact, I think it would be most beneficial for all the Sask trappers to take the AB Snare Course as well... especially the directors! Currently, its most awesome!!! (I took it a year ago too!) Just got to get them to flip their trigger back around. Swivel difference to mine? Minor doctrinal difference.

Ryan, The ATA also receives Government grants from the province under an MOU. I certainly hope that if the course ever becomes mandatory in SK that you continue to apply your funding towards offsetting the cost of the course for Trappers and not treat it as just a source of income to fill the coffers.

I don’t know what you are imagining the level of knowledge that new Trappers in Alberta gain on our 3 day $420 course but every year I have a half dozen or so, right off the course, new Trappers come through my shed just to learn how to put up coyotes and beavers. The theory of a longer course sounds good but that’s not the reality.

How long was your course when you were new to trapping?

Padding the coffers as you put it may or may not be occurring. The ATA has detailed financials available to their members. If there is "extra" money coming in to the ATA thata not necessarily a bad thing. Having a bit of money in the bank is important for all associations.

Now when I began trapping the world was much different than it is now. I was 4 years old and it was 1976. There was no trapping courses or certification programs. Everyone trapped and mentors were everywhere. Standards were horrible and humanness was not emphasized like it is today.

When I was 16 and able to acquire my own licence I was required to pass the Hunter Safety Course and have my parents signature on my licence. I live and breathe trapping and every available Avenue I could find was used. Magazines, books, videos, and especially talking to other trappers.
The times were different then. Everyone had a "secret" or some special concoction and most methods were kept secret. Many many years of trial and error taught me trapping. I did it because I love it, but it sure would have been nice for some of those guys to share abit more than they did.
Trapper Education is very dear to me. I absolutely hate seeing any animal suffer. It's for that reason that I take it upon myself to educate as many people as possible of the most humane ways to harvest fur. And helping out new trappers get over that learning hump quicker makes it better for everyone. New trappers who do not have success initially are more prone to break the rules just to make a catch. Those are the bad stories I hate hearing. Education takes care of all that.
As of right now I am the only instructor who activly teaches the 2 day course in Saskatchewan. Students are given all the government mandated theory but also set real sets and make actual catches. They see in practice how humane sets are made and the results. They also partake in all aspects of fur handling from start to finish. These students do not come out of any course a pro, but they personally have some hands on experience to take with them on their own lines.

It sounds to me like your two day course may be much more beneficial than our three day one.

So, it sounds like you are on board to make the Standard course mandatory. How many days do you think that it should be and if it became mandatory do you think that the cost should be increased in price in order to generate revenue?