Although the popular Woodlake community is determined to keep its scenic view free from damage, the methods the Flats area of the property are using to eliminate the beavers chewing down the trees has caused concern amongst some residents.

“The particular traps that we think they’re using are inhumane and cruel. My husband has shown me videos of what it does,” said Heather Ulrich, the property manager at Paces at Woodlake.

According to Ulrich, there are seven “phases” at the property, each with different types of homes. The beavers were located in phase five.

The Woodlake community has focused on getting rid of beavers in its area, but the traps are drawing complaints as being inhumane. EVAN STICHLER/Staff

Ulrich further said the Homeowners Association of that phase felt the beavers were destroying the trees in the area and voted to set the body-grip traps to get rid of them before they caused further damage.

“One of the members of the association said it was cruel that they were losing trees,” said Brad Ulrich, Heather’s husband.

The traps, also known as Conibear traps, are designed to quickly kill the beavers and other “nuisance wildlife” by snapping the spinal cords of animals that wander into them. But according to the Humane Society, the trap only works a small percentage of the time. Other times, the animals “can suffer lacerations, broken bones and joint dislocation.”

Beavers can be considered a nuisance, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. They can cause problems such as impounding streams, creating flooded bottomlands or chewing on most types of trees.

Besides the beavers, the traps may present a danger to the other wildlife in the area. Brad Ulrich said there are fences around the traps to protect domestic animals from getting in.

“But I’m sure the geese [that live on the lake] could set it off” Ulrich said “and if a human being put his or her foot in that, he or she would have a really serious injury.”

Even University students who lived on the property in the past were against the traps. Jessica Peters, a senior early childhood education major from Monroe, said the traps make the property less attractive to potential tenants and may not even be targeting a huge problem.

“We never had any problems [with beavers] when we lived there” Peters said.

Peters feels they should be looking for other options to control the beaver problem.

“They should look for other resources,” Peters said.

However, not all professionals agree with the Humane Society assessment on the traps. Michael Clutter, dean of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, had a different assessment on the body-grip devices.

“The wildlife community and veterinary community consider them to be a humane form of euthanasia,” Clutter said. “They would disagree [with the Humane Society’s statement].”

In fact, the National Trappers Association has issued a point by point rebuttal of many of the Humane Society’s claims, stating that as the traps are designed “to provide a near instantaneous death via force applied directly below the base of the skull, the likelihood of extraneous injury, and/or self-mutilation is extremely low.”

Still, the Ulrichs and others are determined to spread awareness of the traps that are in the community and hopefully get rid of them.

“I don’t think people realize how bad these traps are,” Brad Ulrich said. “A lot of places have outlawed them.”

At press time, calls to a representative of Parker Associates, the management company that oversees The Flats area of Woodlake, were not returned.