So this weekend is the Canterbury wild food challenge, a day in which people and chefs from all over the region convene and show of their skills in cooking wild or foraged food. Last weekend we were planning on going fishing and catching some fish that I could cook, but because of the wind we were unable to go out and as of right now I have zero plan of what I’m going to cook. So I spent the last couple of days building a trap to try to catch a rabbit or bird of some sort. I watched a few videos on how to make traps by hand and made a plan to make the base out of willow branches and go from there.
I started using rubber bands and wire to hold it together which didn’t work and hunted around the grounds here until I figured out a bungee cord, baling twine, and thin fencing wire would all hold it together properly. Once the trap actually held together, there wasn’t enough tension in the cord or weight on the top portion that snaps down to effectively trap something inside, so I wired and roped some rocks to the top to make sure it came down hard and fast enough to keep something inside. The trap also wasn’t releasing properly because the stabilizing trigger pole would get caught on the wire at the end of the base pole every time, so by moving the pole and divot that held it further up, it was less likely to get stuck once released. After a few bumps and a pretty bad cut in my thumb it held together and seemed to release properly every time. I decided to hide it where we frequently spot rabbits and tie it down to a tree so no one runs away with it.
![IMG_1061](http://blogs.evergreen.edu/comalt-madeline/files/2017/02/IMG_1061-225x300.jpg)
the second version w/rocks, netting, and wire wrapping hidden in the bushes with rotting basil as bait
I’ve never considered “hunting” or trying to kill my own meat because I thought it was unnecessary when I could just go to a store and buy some with less “cruelty” or work involved, but I’ve been fishing a thousand times and never thought of that as on the same level as trapping or hunting. I think my perspective has just changed living here and seeing that this is how people a. get rid of pests and b. feed themselves. Now it seems more cruel to go to a store and buy something you don’t know the history of. Who knows if I’ll actually trap anything with my funny homemade trap but It’s definitely taught me a good bit about harvesting meat and learning what is and isn’t “cruelty-free.”
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