Trapping story doesn’t merit front-page play

One would have thought that The Gazette would have learned its lesson when it glorified the slaughter of a mountain lion as it rested quietly on a tree limb. But no.

Now we are treated to a story about a trapper who has killed 1,300 coyotes over the past decade along with numerous other wild animals (“Top trapper,” March 24). Never mind that most of his victims suffer horribly until he mercifully dispatches them.

The story tries to put a positive spin on this killing spree as if he were doing Iowans a service. A careful newspaper would have documented the purported livestock and pet losses. A wise editor would have recognized that this type of killing for dollars is abhorrent to many and would have buried the piece in the Sports section or refused to publish it at all.

Scott Nau

Cedar Rapids