SEDL / STP / STP974-EB / STP26181S

Test Methods for Steel Foothold Traps: Criteria and Performance Standards

Linhart, SB
Wildlife biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver Wildlife Research Center, Denver, CO

Linscombe, RG
Research biologist, New Iberia, LA

Pages: 11    Published: Jan 1988

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Abstract

Controversy over the continued use of steel traps for capturing wildlife has increased in recent years. Despite the great number of different types of traps and their widespread application for harvesting fur, controlling wildlife damage, and carrying out other wildlife management objectives, few tests of performance have been conducted and no standard test methods have been published. This paper lists and describes some of the physical criteria and laboratory and field tests needed to determine performance, including efficiency, selectivity, and injury sustained by captured animals.