Trapping
Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
Neolithic hunters, including the members of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture of Romania and Ukraine (c. 5500–2750 BCE), used traps to capture their prey.
[1] An early mention in written form is a passage from the self-titled book by Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi which describes Chinese methods used for trapping animals during the 4th century BCE.
The Zhuangzi reads: "The sleek-furred fox and the elegantly spotted leopard ... can't seem to escape the disaster of nets and traps.
[5] It reads: "a griping trappe made all of yrne, the lowest barre, and the ring or hoope with two clickets" [sic].
[6] The mousetrap, with a strong spring device mounted on a wooden base, was first patented by William C. Hooker of Abingdon, Illinois, in 1894.
Trapping has since been expanded to encompass pest control, wildlife management, the pet trade, and zoological specimens.
In some locations in the US and in many parts of southern and western Europe, trapping generates much controversy because it is a contributing factor to declining populations in some species, such as the Canadian Lynx.
By the early 1990s, the Canada lynx was a clear candidate for Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection.
Trapping is regularly used for pest control of beaver, coyote, raccoon, cougar, bobcat, Virginia opossum, fox, squirrel, rat, mouse and mole in order to limit damage to households, food supplies, farming, ranching, and property.
Although it is common to state that trapping is an effective means of pest control, a counter-example is found in the work of Jon Way, a biologist in Massachusetts.
[10] Coexistence programs that take this scientific research into account are being pursued by groups such as the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals.
The research shows that regulated trapping is a safe, efficient, and practical means of capturing individual animals without impairing the survival of furbearer populations or damaging the environment.
[13] Federal authorities in the United States use trapping as the primary means to control predators that prey on endangered species such as the San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica), California least tern (Sterna antillarum browni) and desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii).
The device uses a pressure plate between two metal arms, or "jaws", lined with spiked protrusions, or "teeth".
][27][28] A deadfall is a heavy rock or log that is tilted at an angle and held up with sections of branches, with one of them serving as a trigger.
[30] Snares are anchored cable or wire nooses set to catch wild animals such as squirrels and rabbits.
They are also widely used by subsistence and commercial hunters for bushmeat consumption and trade in African forest regions[32] and in Cambodia.
In some locations, the traps can be placed in alignment with a building, wall, or fence (nearly under one edge of a bush).
Cockroaches may enter houses via wastewater plumbing, underneath doors, or via air ducts or other openings in the walls, windows or foundation.
Inexpensive glue board traps are normally placed in warm indoor locations readily accessible to insects but not likely to be encountered by people: underneath refrigerators or freezers, behind trash cans, etc.
[45] Covering any cracks or crevices through which cockroaches may enter, sealing food inside insect-proof containers, and quickly cleaning any spills or messes that have been made is beneficial.
[47][48] Glue traps were made illegal in Wales in October 2023, marking the first such ban in the United Kingdom.
The hole for the set is usually made in front of some type of object which is where medium-sized animals such as coyotes, fox or bobcats would use for themselves to store food.
The cubby set simulates a den in which a small animal would live, but could be adapted for larger game.
It could be made from various materials such as rocks, logs or bark, but the back must be closed to control the animals approach.
Ideally, if a non-target animal (such as a domestic cat or dog) is caught in a non-lethal trap, it can be released without harm.
In part to address these concerns, in 1996, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, an organization made up of U.S. state and federal fish and wildlife agency professionals, began testing traps and compiling recommendations "to improve and modernize the technology of trapping through scientific research" known as Best Management Practices.
[56] As of February 2013, twenty best management practice recommendations have been published, covering nineteen species of common furbearers across North America.
[57] Trapping in Manitoba, Canada the average 2019–2020 pelt values for a red squirrel was CA$0.54 and for a black bear was $153.41[58]
