Animal Trapping Why Do People Trap Animals? The most obvious reason people would trap was for meat. Aside from food, pelts were also very valuable. Why Would Somebody Trap Rather Than Hunt? Trapping differs in effect from hunting in many ways. Trappers are less efficient at taking animals than hunters are when the animals are abundant. When animals are around only in incidental quantities, trappers are more efficient. Trappers require less equipment. Trapping is safer than hunting. Trappers tend to get more pelts when trapping than hunters do hunting.

Effects of the Seasons on Trapping

All of the numbers above represent peak trapping during the spring, summer and fall months. Trapping in winter is far more difficult because of the elements and the steps a trapper must take to keep himself warm. Trapping during winter imposes a 50% penalty to the trapper's ATUs.

Distance Between Home and the Trapping Range

The farther a Trapper must travel each day to the place he intends to trap has an effect on his efficiency. The biggest problem is not simply the long walk to and from work each day, but also the long walk home carrying 100 lbs of animal carcass. Each hex away a trapper travels from the hex his home is located at is a 5% efficiency penalty. Trappers can trap their own hex for no penalty at all, but even adjacent hexes suffer the 5% penalty. The next ring of hexes out would then be a -10% penalty.

The Spooked Effect

Wild animals do not feel safe around people. The more people you have in an area, the more animals will be scared away. When trapping incidental animal resources you must take into effect how many people are working in the hex that is being trapped. For each person working or living in a hex besides for the trapper himself, a trapper suffers a -5% penalty to the ATUs he generates. This can make it challenging to trap, requiring that trappers spread themselves thin for the best results. (Example: A hex has 10 lumberjacks cutting lumber and 5 trappers trapping. Each trapper takes a 70% loss to their normal ATUs generated due to the 14 other people in the local woods). The Spooked Effect only applies to Trapping Incidental animal resources and not to animals that are an actual resource of the hex. Animals that exist as resources for a hex have courage in numbers, defend their territory and return to their territory even when temporarily scared away.