I’m having trouble wrapping my head around something.  Yesterday, Larry (my husband’s cousin who works full-time with us) was checking fence before moving the cows and calves to a new lot.  He came upon a large black plastic bag a few feet in from the fence on the side of the pasture nearest the road.  He opened the bag and found a new Havahart trap with a very dead and decomposing opossum inside.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this since Larry told me about his discovery.  I understand that these creatures can be destructive.   I don’t understand why anyone would purchase a live trap to catch an opossum, and then allow the animal to starve to death.  Logic says that the purpose of buying a humane live trap is to relocate what is caught, as opposed to killing it, right?  If the intention is to kill the unwanted animal, then wouldn’t there be quicker and more humane ways to go about that?  I can certainly think of a few.  And those traps aren’t cheap, costing around $100.

Let’s not get into the aspect of respect for private property, especially when it is used by a family to make their living.

So many people complain about farmers raising livestock, and perceived “inhumane” practices.  As I’ve said many times before, the farmers I know are dedicated to providing excellent care to their animals.  There is respect shown to livestock, from birth to the time of death, by those of us who make our living raising them.  When I hear comments to the contrary by the uninformed, it makes me sad and sometimes angry.  I don’t know any farmer that would treat an animal under his or her care in the manner shown this opossum.  It sickens me.  One thing I know is that whoever tossed this trap into our pasture was not a farmer. Guaranteed.