Editor:
This letter is in response to the article (‘Beavers pose problem for salmon migration’, July 8) in which a woman from British Columbia claims to have a solution for dealing with the beaver problem in P.E.I.
As a trapper in P.E.I. for more than 50 years, I found her idea of applying a liquid solution or metal shield on the base of trees as a deterrent to beavers to be quite interesting and amusing. Although such an endeavour would be a great way to increase employment on the Island, I doubt this lady has ever truly considered the nature of the 140 or so watersheds in P.E.I. Anyone who has been in the middle of an alder swale that runs alongside so many of the Island’s waterways and ponds, with tens of thousands of trees from the size of your thumb and bigger, would realize the absurdity in such a suggestion. Perhaps the idea could work around a culvert in a municipal or urban setting (which is what her website suggests), but it is certainly not an option here.
In such a small and densely populated province as P.E.I., a large and uncontrolled beaver population cannot only choke streams completely off from fish passage and add to problems with silt, but they flood and damage culverts and roadways, creating a great expense and hazard. Simply put, beavers and fish do not share the same objectives and, left unmanaged, beavers will win out. Conibear traps have been approved around the world as the most effective and humane method of dealing with problem animals when methods such as live trapping and relocation are not available.
The P.E.I. Fish and Wildlife Division works with local trappers from time to time, providing direction in wildlife management. This relationship has always worked well. I think the province does a great job with wildlife management and should be permitted to continue to do its job without interference from people who either don’t have the necessary training in the area, or who are not even from P.E.I., and are therefore not familiar with the full extent of the problem.
Blois MacFarlane,
DeSable, P.E.I.
