Editor:
Why did Sechelt council vote again to table a bylaw to prohibit the use of leg-hold, snare and Conibear traps in the District of Sechelt? Coun. Moore's Sept. 25 motion to meet with the B.C. Trappers' Association members to further "discuss the issue" is almost identical to the one Coun. Lutes made in September 2011, which indicates a total lack of progress. Countless submissions, presentations and appearances by concerned citizens before council were to no avail. All have decried the cruelty and danger of these traps as well as the total disregard of council for the public's safety.
Before the Sept. 25 meeting, each councillor received a package of updated information, which included a letter outlining Davis Bay Elementary School's newoutdoor environmental program. Students are spending the majority of their day using the ocean, beaches, creeks, woodlands and parks as their classroom. Apparently trappers are setting traps along Chapman Creek and around the hatchery to trap otter and other wildlife that come to feed on released and spawning salmon. This puts students' safety at risk. This newest pertinent information was not discussed at council's Sept. 25 meeting.
I can only conclude from council's lack of response to this information that either no one bothered to read the information, or if so, they have decided to ignore it. The safety of the citizens of Sechelt should be ensured, as clearly defined in the Community Charter, and should be the responsibility of Sechelt council to enforce. The Trappers' Association should be held accountable for public safety if they set any type of traps within the District of Sechelt.
Maureen Moorby, Davis Bay
