On December 8, 2003, In Defense of Animals included this item in its weekly newsletter,
A pro-trapping postage stamp is currently under consideration by the U.S. Postal Service. The National Trappers Association (NTA) is pushing the stamp and if they go forward with their campaign to institute the pro-trapping stamp, the trappers will inundate the USPS with vocal requests for these stamps.
Each year approximately 10 million animals are trapped in the wild, so that they can be skinned for fur coats. The primary tools used by fur trappers are the following: leghold trap, the body grip (Conibear) trap, and the wire snare. Volumes of documentation proving that leghold traps mutilate wild animals, are non-selective in what they catch, and are a danger to companion animals and children.This is not something to be promoted on a stamp. Learn more about trapping here.
Contact the national Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee and ask it to deny any pro-trapping stamp requested by the NTA. Tell the Committee that the USPS should not promote animal cruelty.
But a couple weeks later, New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance activist Joe Miele posted a copy of a letter he had received from the USPS dated November 4, 2003, denying that the postal service had plans for a trapping stamp,
November 4, 2003
Dear Mr. Miele:
Thank you for your October 24 letters expressing your opposition to the
issuance of a stamp honoring trappers and animal trapping.There are no plans to issue such a stamp as part of the annual stamp
program.Each year the Postal Service receives thousands of letters suggesting
hundreds of different topics for new stamps. The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory
Committee was established in 1957 to review all suggestions and make
recommendations to the Postmaster General. Committee recommendations are
based on national interest, historical perspective, and other criteria. We
rely on the Committee to produce a balanced stamp program that touches on
all aspects of our heritage. Enclosed for your reference is the Creating
U.S. Postage Stamps brochure.We appreciate your interest in our stamp program.
Sincerely,
Terrence W. McCaffrey
Manager
Stamp Development
If IDA wants to keep activists busy on a wild goose chase, more power to them.
Sources:
Trappers push pro-trapping postage stamp. Animal News Center, December 22, 2003.
E-Newsletter. In Defense of Animals, December 8, 2003.
USPS correspondence. Terrence W. McCaffrey, November 4, 2003.