Best Management Practices are essentially a set of descriptions about the different types of traps, how they work best, how they should be set, what training may be needed for people who trap, as well as other points of information that make a trap and trapper function safely, humanely and efficiently.

Best Management Practices will be recommended to State Fish and Wildlife agencies to be incorporated into state regulated trapping programs and used in trapper education programs.BMP's are being developed for five different regions of the country. These regions include the Northeast, Southeast, Mid-west, West, and Alaska.

BMP's are developed regionally because environmental conditions (weather and soil conditions) as well as the various types of wildlife species which may be legally trapped under state regulations vary across the United States.

Testing Traps for BMP’s.
State wildlife biologists and specially trained wildlife veterinarians have been working cooperatively in designing and conducting trap research projects to help identify the best traps available. Trap testing programs involving over 90 types of traps have been conducted in 40 states from Alaska to Maine to Louisiana. All types of traps have been tested including: live restraint cable devices, cage traps, species selective traps, plain jaw and modified coil-spring and longspring traps, as well as bodygrip traps. The testing is conducted on trap lines around the country where 1000 experienced trappers accompanied by wildlife technicians operate traps under real world conditions.

Everyone - managers, regulators, biologists, veterinarians and the public who traps - is interested in using the best technology available for the responsible capture of furbearers. Working towards this goal state wildlife agencies will continue their efforts in trap research and developing Best Management Practices. Trapping BMP's are being published and made available to state and federal wildlife agencies. In addition, any trapper organization or other interested party may receive a free copy of the BMP's as they become available. Making sure trapping is conducted humanely and responsibly is extremely important to us all. Best Management Practices based on sound scientific data and biology will continue to measurably improve the welfare of captured wildlife in the United States.

If you are interested in more information about Best Management Practices and trapping, and furbearer management contact Bryant White via email at Bryant.White@mdc.mo.gov