It has come to my attention that in the latest edition of the GTA newsletter Mr Lee Riley has brought to our attention a potential conflict between the GTA and the fur trappers they represent and the professional NWCOs of this state. He states correctly that we as NWCOs (or least the handful of us who are concerned enough to unite for the good of all of us) wish to see some changes made to the way NWCO operations are regulated in this state. He also states that we wish to aquire access to tools that are currently not allowed by fur trapping regulation. He then goes on to say....
Quote:
FELLOWS, THIS IS A FOOLISH THOUGHT ON THEIR PART. I think they are out of touch.
On the contrary, this is a purpose that has been years in the making. I myself have been a voice crying out in the wilderness ever since I arrived in Georgia and I did the same thing in my home state as well. It is only with time as others came on board and sought to perform NWCO work to the highest standards as possible that we became to find receptive ears and we reached out to each other and networked not only across this great state but the nation as a whole. You know us we are a part of you while I like some have never been fur trappers most of us come from your ranks and I think I can speak for all when I say that we are all brothers and sisters both fur and NWCO alike. We are not at cross purposes and in spite of the unavoidable miscommunication and what may appear to be secret cabals plotting to change our way of life we the NWCOs of Georgia are a full and open book. It is only due to distance and the personal nature of our communications (we do lunch and talk on the phone) that our intent is not more wildly known. Nothing in what we desire in any way has been meant to deprive anyone of anything nor do we wish to keep it a secret or the sole property of the few, this is for all NWCOs statewide and any person who may express an interest.
To that end I am posting a link to the Georgia NWCO Forum and the specific links where we are discussing this issue. In the light of full disclosure and openess it is being discussed on the open public side of the forum for all the world to see so please before you take Mr Riley's spin on it review our statements for yourself and please feel free to join our discussion. BTW, as of this morning I have had a very pleasent and lengthy conversation with Mr Riley and I can not find any malice on his part but instead a legitimate concern for his membership specifically and furtrapping and wildlife as a whole. I commend him for that and look forward to sitting down with him this September at the GTA annual meeting, I hope all of y'all can attend and we can discuss this face to face.
When you visit our site you will discover that there is indeed a top secret locked NWCO only side of the forum but to allay your fears it is not the plotters forum but merely the place where we NWCOs have set aside to freely discuss among ourselves the things that are better said in the company of like minded individuals. In other words it's there for the same reason this site has rules regarding certain photos and discussions. Where here we can do those posting via private message there we have merely set aside and area of the forum. You can even see this for yourself if you so desire since the only requirement for access is that you are a Georgia NWCO. It's as simple as registering for an account and indicating that you are a permit holder which will be cross referenced aginst the state list and your in. But as I said all of the pertinant information is readily available for all on the public side of the house.
I am making this post here, again on an open public forum, because unlike the GTA we the NWCOs do not have a mailing list or newsletter to disseminate the information we feel you need to make a decision regarding us. Also all of the people mentioned are also members of this site andof course by know all of you know me and my feelings on NWCO regulations since I've been broadsiding them on the ADC forum since 2006. Again I am going to post some links. First, to the board itself and then to the thread in particular plus copy and paste my response so that you may know my thoughts as well.
http://georgianwco.boards.net/http://georgianwco.boards.net/thread/101/give-thoughts-good-keep-civilOriginally Posted By: warrior
Rick, if you could can you please forward me a copy of the GTA newsletter as I have not received mine yet and would like to know specifically what I am commenting on before I fly off the handle.
At this point I can only surmise what was said in the newsletter so rather than go into a diatribe on the specific charges I'll instead state my views and what I understand to be the general consensus of NWCOs like myself who want only the best of all things for both NWCOs AND fur trappers. I am also very leery of airing this on a public forum for all the world to see as infighting while obviously entertaining to the non involved spectator doesn't do much for the image of either party in the fight. I shall instead post wholly in the light of the public for the sole purpose of explaining the current state of affairs of the nuisance wildlife control industry in the state of Georgia and ask the impartial general public at large to form their own opinion of the issues involved. It is afterall their state and wildlife as well since it is we the citizens who are the owners of the wildlife and all of us should be involved in the welfare of the flora and fauna of this great state. Since the wildlife is the property of all lets set aside the idea of furtrappers versus NWCOs since neither of us can lay legitimate claim to the sole possession of wildlife. The homeowners, nature walkers and other non consumptive users have just as much claim as any other.
First let me state for the record my name is David McLeod owner and operator of Georgia Wildlife Services, Inc a nuisance wildlife control operation. I am a NWCO or Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator and as such I am licensed and permitted by the state of Georgia to trap, remove, deter or exclude wildlife species as they become a nuisance for the general public at large. These species include all furbearers as defined for the purposes of commercial fur trapping in the state of Georgia and (a very important distinction here) ALL NON FURBEARER AND NON GAME SPECIES (exceptions being bear, turkey, deer and alligators over four foot in length) at all times of the year including outside of the regulated fur trapping season. I hope you can see the distinction but let me clarify.
Fur trapping is one of the most ancient of human endeavors going all the way back to when man had no other options but to cloth himself in the skins of animals. It is in my opinion a holy ordained pursuit when none other than the Creator Himself the Lord God of all the earth that clothed mankind in skins after the fall from grace in the garden; Genesis 3:21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
As such I will defend the right to responsibly harvest wild furbearers with every fiber of my being and nothing I will ever do as a NWCO will change that. This in total spite of the fact that I am not nor have I ever been a fur trapper. In my two score plus years on this globe I have always admired the men and women who still carried the ancient skills and knowledge of the ways of wildlife to be able to capture them at will. I consider them to be my brothers and sisters in outdoors as my background is that of a hunter skilled in the use of arms to capture wildlife and that of a commercial fisherman plying the waters of my home state of Alabama. I came to the art of trapping as so many of my customers today do, namely dealing with wildlife as it became a nuisance. First as a child when rats would invade the barns and corn cribs of my youth and then on to larger species such as the raccoon and opossums as they raided my fathers hen house. Then snakes and all the other wildlife that a rural agrarian upbringing can experience. I somehow became my father's own personal NWCO before I ever knew I would pursue a career in the field. Later I would become more involved with the aquisition of live raccoons for the purposes of training award winning treeing walker coonhounds and again wildlife became a personal issue when beavers became a nuisance for my father when the timber lands we had so painstakingly planted were felled by the industrious rodents. So you can see my bonafides as a NWCO and fellow outdoorsman are legitimate and you can rest assured that none of what I do today or in the future will ever be an effort to deprive my fellow citizen of his or her ability to enjoy wildlife in whatever way they see fit either consumptive or non.
Now let me turn this opus towards the general viewing public and let them makes there own druthers about the issue.
Are you the general public aware of the exact requirements that your NWCO must meet prior to becoming certified to solve your specific wildlife issue?
What I am about to tell you hopefully will horrify you.
The qualifications are as follows...........
$30.00 that's it!
Oh, and pass a free of charge 20 question multiple choice questionaire that only covers, now get this, the fur trapping regulations of Georgia.
No insurance, No bonding (unless your a non resident), No continuing eduction, No corporate registration, No accountability, No enforcement
And us NWCOs who are not required to go to school, pass extensive training regimens, carry insurance, register our operations with the state and all the other things you would expect of someone you would call to go into your homes and businesses are the very ones you will call when wildlife gets out of hand.
There my dear friends in the general public and my future clients is our dirty laundry hung out for all to see and the Georgia Trappers Association (which is solely a fur trapping organization) wants to preserve the status quo.
What we are asking the state of Georgia to do for us NWCOs is not to restrict fur trapping or in any way alter the liberties they already possess. Frankly as far as NWCO operations go they really are not a party to this other than both NWCOs and fur trappers share a limited handful of tools, namely traps, and many fur trappers are also NWCOs (for instance Rusty Johnson of the GTA is a full fledged NWCO himself with his own NWCO company).
What we want, no DEMAND, is a higher standard. Those of us who've been at this and been through the wringer are sick and tired of the lack of standards. Many of us (and I can vouch for Rick, Chris and Pete personally) have voluntarily and of our own accord set our own standards and gotten the eduction and the training and continue to seek out new skills and knowledge. We've gotten the insurance, filed our papers with the state and held each other accountable. We know what we can be and want to give you our customers the very best that we can. WE ARE PROFESSIONALS AND EXPECT PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS. You deserve no less!
First, we require that NWCO standards and regulations be completely severed from the regulated fur trapping standards and regulations.
Second, we require a professional licensing board as allowed by Georgia Code 43.
Third, we require access to and the ability to use tools of the trade currently denied us by fur trapping regulations to better serve the general public and provide a much greater measure of safety for both the beneral public and wildlife.
Fourth, we require our own independant board of licensing to protect the NWCO from intrusions by similar but different industries.
Fifth, we require the full rights and responsibilities to self regulate without the interference of hobbiests and non allied interests.
Sixth, we require that the consumer of our services get full representation by consumer advocates.
Seven, we require that NWCOs of today and all that may come in the future are as fully trained as possible and continue to receive training as needed to remain current with all areas of wildlife management.
Eight, we require that any person or entity that makes management decisions on the behalf of the wildlife of the state of Georgia (outside the scope of regulated hunting, trapping or fishing as managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources) meet the standards of this board.
Nine, we require that rather than the broad scope of powers the NWCO of today has over a multitude of species whether he/she has specific training in that species or not these powers be split into categories of specialization.
Ten, we require the recognition of a single state entity to speak on the behalf of NWCOs alone.
So there I've appalled you and laid out a set of pipe dreams. You be the judge. It is now past one o'clock in the morning and I have to go evict some bats from a house in the morning so I'll sign off for now and return on the morrow to regale you with the history of NWCO operations in this state and most of the nation. If I'm feeling froggy I may even hang some more laundry and tell you of my experiences as the Georgia State rep for the national association, NWCOA. (the GTA is involved or as the case was not involved)
Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
Atlanta 678-572-8269 Macon 478-227-4497
www.atlantawildliferemoval.netRead more:
http://georgianwco.boards.net/thread/101/give-thoughts-good-keep-civil#ixzz2aXwbp3oz
![[Linked Image]](8a3gq5-1.jpg)
