The trap is thinking this doesn't Affect You

One Bite at a Time

By Kim Rose

“For me, this one is personal. I grew up on our family trapline. I started school late because we were still out there. In this photo, I was about five years old and my brother was three. Trapping wasn't something we watched from the outside. It was part of how our family lived, learned and sustained ourselves. Today, I hold my own trapping certification and remain a strong advocate for preserving the knowledge, traditions and opportunities that shaped generations before us. I have skin in this game, but that's exactly why I believe this conversation is bigger than me, and bigger than trapping.”

If you aren't a trapper, don't stop reading.

Actually, this might be more important for you to read.

Because today, we're talking about traplines.

Tomorrow, the conversation could be about farming, hunting, fishing, forestry, mining, recreation, land ownership, access, small business, or something none of us has even thought about yet.

And before we divide ourselves into Indigenous and non-Indigenous, rural and urban, trapper and non-trapper, I think we need to zoom out.

This is bigger than any one group.

This is about what we inherit, what we protect while it's ours, and what will still be here for the generations coming after us.

We've all heard the old saying:

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

It's usually meant to be motivational. Take something enormous, break it into manageable pieces and eventually you'll accomplish what once seemed impossible.

But I've been thinking about the other side of that saying.

How do you lose an elephant?

Maybe the answer is exactly the same.

One bite at a time.

Traditions rarely disappear because somebody announces on Monday morning that a culture, industry, skill or way of life is officially over.

Sometimes participation simply becomes a little harder.

Access becomes a little narrower.

Another requirement appears.

Another permission is needed.

Another area becomes unavailable.

Another cost is added.

Another person decides it isn't worth continuing.

Then another.

And another.

Until one day, something that survived generations exists mostly in photographs, museums and stories about how things used to be.

That is why a September 4th, 2026 letter from the Province of British Columbia concerning proposed trapping regulations deserves the attention of considerably more people than trappers.

The Province is considering prohibiting killing traps and foothold traps in BC Parks front-country areas, within one kilometre of BC Parks campgrounds or day-use areas, within one kilometre of developed portions of ministry recreation sites and trails, and within 30 metres of Forest Service Roads or highways. The proposal also includes signage requirements within municipal boundaries and reporting requirements when domestic animals are incidentally caught in traps.

The Province says the measures are intended to reduce the likelihood of people and pets being caught in traps, and says the proposed distances may change through engagement and consultation.

The BC Trappers Association strongly opposes the proposals as presented.

Among its concerns, the association argues the cumulative setbacks could make significant portions of some registered traplines unusable, particularly where roads, waterways, recreation areas and wildlife travel corridors intersect. It has also raised questions about tenure value, compensation, signage, responsibility for uncontrolled pets and what it describes as an inadequate 31-day engagement period.

The deadline for feedback is October 5.

You can agree with the BCTA.

You can disagree with them.

You can think the Province's proposals are reasonable.

You can think they've gone too far.

That's not really my point.

My point is that you should know the conversation is happening while you still have an opportunity to be part of it.

Because this isn't the first time society has had to decide where safety, regulation, access, industry, tradition, responsibility and individual freedoms intersect.

And it certainly won't be the last.

There are important Indigenous histories and rights connected to trapping. There are also generations of non-Indigenous families who have built livelihoods, knowledge and traditions around the land. This does not need to become another issue where we immediately retreat into opposing camps.

Loss doesn't particularly care who you are.

It doesn't check your ancestry before knowledge disappears.

It doesn't ask your politics before an industry changes.

It doesn't care whether the knowledge being lost came from an elder, a rancher, a trapper, a logger, a farmer, a hunter, a fisherman or a grandparent teaching a child something that was once taught to them.

Once that chain breaks, rebuilding it is considerably harder than keeping it intact.

And that's where I think this conversation becomes bigger than trapping.

What do you want to still exist 20, 40 or 60 years from now?

What opportunities do you want your children to have?

What industries might they depend on?

What passions might your grandchildren discover?

What knowledge do we assume somebody else will preserve?

And perhaps most importantly, what conversations are happening today that we've dismissed because we decided they don't affect us?

Your issue might not be trapping. Fine.

Maybe it's agriculture.

Maybe it's access to the backcountry.

Maybe it's fishing, forestry, mining, hunting, property, business or something entirely different.

Whatever it is, pay attention to it.

Read the proposal.

Ask questions.

Challenge the people making the decisions.

Challenge the people opposing them.

Challenge your own assumptions.

And use your voice.

Because it is easy to look at something enormous and convince yourself that one person cannot possibly make a difference.

But remember the elephant.

One bite at a time works both ways.

So does a chisel.

A masterpiece isn't created with one swing. It takes hundreds, sometimes thousands, of deliberate strikes.

Maybe yours isn't the final one.

Most aren't.

Maybe your letter doesn't change the decision.

Maybe your question doesn't change someone's mind.

Maybe teaching your child something your grandfather taught you doesn't seem particularly revolutionary.

Do it anyway.

Because things will continue changing whether we participate in those changes or not.

Silence doesn't stop the process. Participation gives us a place in it.

And perhaps the most important things we leave the next generation aren't simply the things we managed to keep.

They're the things we taught them were worth showing up for.

What You Can Do

The BC Trappers Association is asking members, supporters and anyone concerned about the proposed changes to submit feedback to the Ministry before October 5, 2026. The association has prepared information about the proposals, its formal response and resources to help people provide feedback.

Readers can visit the BC Trappers Association website for the association's information and current instructions for responding.

For information about trapping in British Columbia and the regulations currently in effect, readers can also visit the Government of British Columbia's official Trapping in B.C. information. The Province's current trapping rules are also contained in the Wildlife Act Commercial Activities Regulation.

Read it.

Question it.

Decide what you think.

And if it matters to you, say something.