Fort Smith (Oct 18/04) - A Fort Smith trapper says the illegal trap he has been charged with using was given to him by officials from the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED).

Curtis Schaefer pleaded not guilty to charges of using an illegal trap, illegal possession of wildlife caught with that trap, trapping outside the boundaries of his trapline and trapping on another person's trapline.

Schaefer says RWED gave him the trap he was using about 10 years ago to test new "quick kill" technology. However, he didn't catch anything at the time and just hung up the trap.

Last year, he says, he figured he'd try it again and caught a wolverine.

"I was just trying to hold up my end of the bargain," he says, noting no one from RWED ever told him the test was over.

Schaefer, 38, a member of Salt River First Nation, also feels the charges interfere with his treaty rights to hunt and trap.

As for trapping on someone else's trapline, Schaefer says he has been trapping in the same area, across the Slave River from Fort Smith, for 24 years without a problem with neighbouring trappers.

Schaefer also says RWED determined the location of the trap with a global positioning system (GPS).

"Trappers don't use GPS," he says.

The case will be back in Territorial Court on Nov. 25.

RWED declined to comment because the case is in court.