When I was younger, trapping was my passion, and I used to trap these and about every other fur bearing critter. Fur prices went down and gas prices went up, so became unprofitable.....I've grown soft in my old age, and don't really care to hunt or trap anymore anyway. (Except with a camera. )
Ditto here Ron..couldn't have said it better.
Hunted and trapped fur from Arizona to the BC border for many years,
then in the winter of 1990 it was like a switch turned off...apparently
I had reached my limit. Last critter I trapped was a beautiful female
coyote, and she'd been hanging around the field where my (then)
2 year old daughter and my (then) wife walked every day.
She was back-footed in a #2 longspring, and when I was preparing
to terminate her....well, I just couldn't do it. Since I had her attention,
I gave her a good chewing out, and told her if I ever saw her in the
field again it would not go well for her. Taking a chance, I reached down
and caught the wire connecting the trap to it's anchor, and as she stretched
out in front of me I just reached up and popped the trap off her foot.
She took about three steps, stopped to check her foot (which was fine)
and looked at me as if to say "Thanks", then she calmly trotted on down the
trail and into the bush.
Nowadays you'll find me sitting on my front porch with half a dozen wild
(and fat) raccoons crawling all around me looking for treats. Don't ask me
how they got fat...
BTW, that's one uber-fat 'rat! Thing almost looks the size of a Nutria.