Quote:
Originally Posted by 5911ryan
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???
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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.