Quote:
Originally Posted by HunterDave
I don't follow that logic, Red. Are you saying that the quality of instruction would be lower on a free, or less expensive course, as opposed to an expensive one simply because of the cost of it? If that is the case, do you think that all of the associations offering free or affordable courses are actually doing a disservice to the trapping community by qualifying more Trappers? I always figured that the more Trappers the better and collectively the greater numbers would give us a stronger voice on issues.
Maybe you mean that by making the course accessible to low income earners and kids they would be less qualified to trap after taking the course......although they received the same instruction?
When potential Trappers need an RESP or student loan to take a trapping course things have gone way beyond ridiculous.
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My train of thought is that we do not need to make it easier for people to learn about trapping. If they are serious about learning trapping they will need to pay a price. My analogy is if I wanted to become a welder to earn some money I don't think some free courses would qualify me for the trade.
I do not agree with the fees that associations and instructors charge. When I was teaching the trapping course it cost about 40 bucks for 28 hours of instruction.(that is only 18 years ago). That works out to a buck and a half an hour for the course. It is obvious that today the instructors and associations are all about lining their own pockets.
Also, it just seems to me that if more people are out trapping it will eventually lead to more quotas of various species. If we look at trapping historically there was a time that beaver trapping was stopped due to the fact that there weren't many beaver left because of overtrapping. If more and more people get into trapping then this will likely be the future outcome. And the more fur available on the market will probably lower fur prices.
I believe if low income people and youth can prove financial hardship and have a genuine interest to learn trapping there should be concessions in course prices. We need to direct our concerns of exorbitant prices for courses to the associations and instructors.
Instead of free courses our associations should have one on one mentoring programs for individuals available for our youth to get some experience.