Robert Torricelli: “First, let me repeat my offer. If the Senator would like, for the sake of fairness, to abandon this, not only by the…”

“First, let me repeat my offer. If the Senator would like, for the sake of fairness, to abandon this, not only by the managers of the land and recreational, but also commercial people, I would be the first to vote for his amendment. This has been narrowly construed only for commercial purposes as an accommodation to the Senator from Alaska. Now, I believe that, as you know, overwhelmingly, trappers are not using these two traps. Overwhelmingly, they are using alternate kinds of technology that are not inhumane, are recognized internationally, and by most other States. If, indeed, by further banning these, we can encourage others to use these traps, I would be the first to do it. It is simply my belief that people who are in this for cash business, they are trapping for furs, getting cash for their furs, we have a right to ask them to spend the extra money to get different traps that either kill the animal outright or catch it alive and unhurt so it can be released and the wrong species are not caught. I think we can put that extra burden on a person who is trapping for cash dollars to buy the different trap. The subsistence people, who are eating the game they are trapping, are exempt from this, as the Senator knows--particularly native peoples who may not be able to afford to do so, or it is in their tradition to do so. They are exempt. So we are dealing with a minority of a minority, only on wildlife refuge lands.”