Trapper Compensation Program
Last Update/Review: June 3, 2002
A Trapper Compensation Program is administered by the Alberta Trappers' Association to help trappers when they are negatively affected by the activities of other resource users on Crown lands.
This program requires that both trappers and industry recognize each other's rights to the same land area, and it awards compensation when necessary to trappers with proven losses or extra costs. A Trapper Compensation Board has been appointed to review claims that cannot be resolved through direct negotiations.
The program provides compensation to registered fur management licence holders for the following kinds of losses:
- loss through theft, arson or vandalism of trapping equipment, cabins, furs and other normally used supplies;
- damage to traps and equipment that occurs because of industrial activity, when the trapper has not been properly notified that the activity will take place;
- extra work and time, necessary to remove and relocate sets, and other extra costs that can be linked directly to industrial activity;
- a seasonal loss of fur production from a trapping area that has been severely affected by the oil and gas industry; and
- long-term effects of significant changes to habitat, which mean that the trapper can no longer maintain his or her traditional harvest of furs (by species), and cannot make up the loss by shifting to other available species of furbearers.
Guidelines for claimants to use are presented in the Alberta Guide to Trapping Regulations. For further information contact the Alberta Trappers' Association.
