Syracuse.com - AL LaFrance: Fur trapping advocate who used common sense to manage wildlife

[HuntingNY-News]

He often talked about how man plays a crucial role in wildlife management and conservation.

Those who knew Al LaFrance knew of his love for animals and nature, and his common sense approach to wildlife management.

Those who didn't know him, distained, condemned -- and at times -- harassed him.

Count me among those who knew and appreciated him.

LaFrance, 68, of Manlius, died of cancer last month doing what he loved. He passed away underneath a tree while on a bear hunting trip in Canada.

LaFrance's place on the Central New York outsdoors scene was long-standing and well-deserved. He was the long-time owner Al's Critter Solutions, a nuisance animal removal business. According to his obituary, "he was an avid outdoorsman who received several awards for his professional and expert knowledge about wildlife, specifically bats, earning him the nickname of "Batman."

He was a trapper training instructor for more than 35 years and past president of the Independent Fur Harvesters of CNY. He was named the NYS Wildlife Trapper of the Year and was inducted into the NYS Outdoorsman Hall of Fame in 1999.

"Al did his best to promote trapping and trappers in a positive light," said Leo Maloney, president of the NYS Outdoorsman Hall of Fame. Maloney said LaFrance for years made his way across the state speaking to various groups, emphasizing the role of trapping in wildlife management and how it kept rabies in check and reduced negative human/animal interactions.

LaFrance's activities didn't stop at trapping.

"Al LaFrance was a dedicated volunteer sportsman," said Stephen Wowelko, former president of the Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen. "He gave a tremendous amount of his time fighting for sportsmen's issues and working on teaching youth about hunting and fishing. A sportsman with his dedication to helping others is impossible to replace."

In recent years, he organized the Bob Evans Memorial Predator Calling Hunt in Pompey. Proceeds from the event each year go to toward Advance Strategies, an organization that provides hunting and fishing experiences for physically challenged sportsmen and women. In 2015, the hunt raised $2,700 for the group.

This past winter it was cancelled due to lack of entrants. Animal rights groups claimed credit, but LaFrance, who had battled against their criticisms wouldn't concede that, chalking the lack of participation up to hunters ignoring the signup deadline and naively expecting to enter the day before the competition.

LaFrance's son, Jason LaFrance, said his father was cordial and friendly, but "always laid it all out there. He let everyone know who he was and what he was about. He put all his cards on the table."

The blow back he received at times was intense, the son said. In the late 1990s when he stood up and spoke out about animal rights advocates, his wife received a letter from anti-fur trapping activists laced with razor blades inside designed to cut a finger upon opening them. Those who opposed LaFrance's stance on trapping conducted candle light vigils outside of his home.

In 2014, vandals armed with a chain saw ravaged the inside of the CNY Indepndent Fur Harvesters clubhouse at Pratt's Falls County Park. They also set fires in two places in the building, but extinguished them before they consumed the structure.

In addition, the vandals ripped most of the club's trophy mounts, plaques and antique traps that were hanging on the walls and threw them over a nearby fence. The club's kitchen utensils, coffee pot - even the club's refrigerator -- were tossed into a deep gorge just behind the clubhouse.

The vandals were never found or arrested. LaFrance refused to say the damage was caused by animal rights advocates. Undaunted, he and other club members cleaned the mess up and months afterward and resumed their meetings there.

When I first started as an outdoors writer nearly a decade ago, it was LaFrance who took me out checking traps he set to take care of nuisance beavers in a stream and in various road culverts in Madison County. At his invitation, I also attended several raw fur auctions during which local trappers sold their furs to buyers.

I soon learned that LaFrance was the guy that many called when they had bat, beaver, skunk, raccoon and coyote problems. The feedback I got indicated he always handled nuisance animals professionally, humanely and with the intent of reducing an animal's suffering as much as possible.

He often talked about how man plays a crucial role in wildlife management and conservation and that simply leaving things alone for Mother Nature to handle is often an unrealistic and naive stance.

Those who condemned LaFrance, his son said, refused to acknowledge that "life's circle is not all sweet and peaceful.

"They see Disney movies and think that's how things are out there," he said.

Veteran's Day is 'Free Fishing Day' across New York State

They're not. LaFrance taught me that and I'll miss him.

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