Do you want your neighbors’ pests released in the woods beside your home so they can invade your premises? The Wildlife Resources Commission’s personnel are educated in all aspects of wildlife management, and have done a good job since its inception, as witness the reintroduction of deer, otter and wild turkeys to our state. I thank our county commissioners for listening to our wildlife professionals and passing a resolution that will help Polk County join 97 other counties who already allow their residents to trap under state regulations without the dire consequences feared by anti-trapping supporters. These regulations will allow the landowner to give written permission to another individual to trap nuisance wildlife on their property.

The “majority” of citizens in Polk County are not of the opinion that trapping should be banned here, regardless of the opinions expressed by a few who write to the Bulletin and gather signatures from websites where a thousand signatures can be obtained at the click of a mouse, and have no interest in the well-being of landowners who live here.

In nearly 30 years as a wildlife enforcement officer, I have never heard of anyone getting caught in a steel trap. Traps large enough to hold horses, cattle or people are called bear traps, and have been illegal for more than 50 years.

At the Feb. 4 commissioners’ meeting, one woman said her husband was bitten by a rabid fox several years ago, and had to go through the series of shots as treatment. She then said she had rather her husband be bitten by another rabid fox than have trapping in Polk County. Well, madam, I do not want anyone, including your husband to be bitten by a rabid animal.

And finally Mr. Mazur, we do not have badgers in N.C. Evidently, all those muskies you complain about in Lake Adger, ate them.

– John Blanton, Green Creek