Dog food?

UPDATE: Welcome North Carolina Hunting And Fishing Forums readers!
UPDATE II: Feedback from WRAL below.

Shame on Sampson County. I'm certain that the Beaver Lodge will be springing into action soon.

"The beaver problem seems to grow despite our best efforts," Holder said. "The professional trappers go deep into the heart of the problem, and they're able to, hopefully, break up dams and solve the root of the problem."

From December through February, Thompson and the other two trappers netted 558 beavers.

“It’s certainly working,” said Kent Wooten, Sampson County's director of the state Cooperative Extension Service.

During the three-month trapping season, property owners can call the county and have trappers remove beaver dams for free. Outside the season, trappers charge for the service.

Thompson, who has trapped beavers for 40 years, paddles and plods deep into the swamps to get the job done. Beavers can wreak havoc in the county if left unchecked, he said.

"You got to keep the water moving for the drainage. If they keep building beaver dams, they're going to have water running everywhere but in the creek," he said. "The water will be so high, it runs across the road. We got farms where the water is running all through the people's fields."

One pair of beavers breeds two to seven babies year, he said.

"If they're not caught, next year, that crowd will raise some more," he said.

The carcasses of the trapped beavers are sent to Barbour Fur Co. in Smithfield, where they’re used to make dog food and fur products. “No part is wasted,” Thompson said.

Hey, WRAL, where's the other side of the story? You know, the part that talks about how beavers help to purify the water and provide habitat for dozens of other species? You can contact WRAL General Manager Jim Hefner through this web page and let him know how disappointed you are in this story.

Contact info for Sampson County is here if you want to let them know how you feel about these ignorant and barbaric acts. One of these days, i guess, Sampson County will get around to providing email services for their commissioners and employees.

UPDATE: My email to WRAL.

Your recent story on beaver eradication in Sampson County did not mention any of the ecological benefits of having a local beaver population, nor did it discuss any of the other possible solutions to beaver/human co-habitation besides eradication, which a brief Google search would have helped uncover.

As a member of Beaver Lodge Local 1504, founded in Durham County several years to, among other things, find solutions other than eradication to beaver issues, I really wish that you had taken the time to explore additional aspects of this issue. As it stands, your coverage was disappointing.

Barry Ragin

UPDATE: Email from WRAL:

This is Bryan Mims, the reporter who did the beaver story. You’re right – we need to explore the benefits of beavers to the ecosystem. The story came across as a bit flippant, and this is an issue that shouldn’t have been treated as such.

That said, I plan on doing a story in the next week – or at least in the next month – about the virtues of beavers. I could certainly tap the expertise of your organization.

Thanks for watching,

Bryan