CA1112042A - Humane snare - Google Patents
Humane snareInfo
- Publication number
- CA1112042A CA1112042A CA366,057A CA366057A CA1112042A CA 1112042 A CA1112042 A CA 1112042A CA 366057 A CA366057 A CA 366057A CA 1112042 A CA1112042 A CA 1112042A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- loop
- trap
- standing portion
- stop
- standing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01M—CATCHING, TRAPPING OR SCARING OF ANIMALS; APPARATUS FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS ANIMALS OR NOXIOUS PLANTS
- A01M23/00—Traps for animals
- A01M23/24—Spring traps, e.g. jaw or like spring traps
- A01M23/34—Spring traps, e.g. jaw or like spring traps with snares
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure A humane snare type animal trap for trapping and killing animals in their natural habitat is provided, comprising a snare component and a one piece trap component having spring means and a release means incorporated therein. The present invention is simple in construction, efficient and is adaptable for use in a variety of trapping environments.
Description
Humane Snare Type Animal Trap This invention relates to an apparatus for humanely trapping and killing animals and, more particularly, to a simple, economical snare type animal trap that may be used to quickly and efficiently trap and kill animals such as beavers and coyotes in a variety of trapping environments.
Conventional animal traps include the snare type or spring loaded jaw type traps. Both these types of traps, however, suffer from substantial disadvantages in that the traps are generally inefficient, inhumane and impractical. _ Common spring loaded jaw type traps, although efficient in trapping the animals, are inhumane in that a quick kill of the animal is not ensured.
The trapped animal thereby suffers, often gnawing off a limb in order to ; escape. Moreover, certain known jaw type traps, such as the Coni Bear #
330*, contain parts that separate from the trap upon it being sprung. These parts frequently are lost or impede the operation of the device. The replacement of lost parts is not only expensive, but may also be difficult in remote trapping locations.
Conventional snare type traps are also inhumane in that the tightening of the snare loop around the animal is often dependent upon the force placed upon the loop by the struggling animal.
Attempts have been made to combine certain advantages of snare type traps with those of jaw type traps. These combination devices, however, also have disadvantages similar to those of spring loaded jaw type traps. In particular, combination devices are quite complex in construction, thereby tending to malfunction in operation, particularly when used in the extreme climatic conditions that are often encountered by trappers. Such complex devices tend not to be sturdy, and to suffer from corrosion as a result of * Trade mark - 1 -.
the accumulation of moisture and dirt amongst the many parts. Constant maintenance of the device is required.
The complexity of known devices also results in problems in the field. In particular, known devices are bulky, rendering them difficult to hide when set, as well as to store or transport when not in use. Moreover, devices such as that disclosed in Canadian Patent Serial No. 1,030,347, granted on May 2nd, 1978 to King et al, must be set in a particular orientation (i.e. vertical) thereby reducing the probability of an animal being snared by the trap. Known devices are also difficult to boil or wax in order to remove human scent. Some known devices include separate trigger mechanisms which extend partly across the snare loop, thereby eliminating one of the principle advantages of the snare type trap, namely, unimpeded passage of the animal into the snare loop.
; The aforementioned disadvantages may be overcome by the trap accord-ing to the invention. According to the invention there is provided, in an animal trap of the type comprising a snare having a loop and a standing portion having a free end, the standing portion being extendable to close the loop about an animal's neck, and resilient means acting between the free end and the loop, the resilient means being adapted to be biased to a set position wherein the loop is open, and released to close the loop, the resilient means being locked in a biased position by being fixedly secured to the free end of the standing loop and releasably secured by a lock to the standing portion between the free end and the loop whereby release of the biasing means closes the loop quickly, the improvement wherein the lock comprises release means on the standing portion and the biasing means for mutual engage-ment to set the trap, said release means comprising an opening having a ' , ~ ' .
~L~1;2a3 4~, restricted portion in the biasing means, and a mating stop on the standing portion, engagement of the mating stop with the restricted portion retaining the trap in a set position and release of the stop from the restricted port~on releasing the biasing means to close the loop.
The trap described above eliminates many of the disadvantages associated with more complex devices. In particular; malfunctions in the device are reduced, particularly those malfunctions associated with unfavourable climatic conditions; maintenance requirements are reduced; no special tools are required to set, operate, or repair the device; the device is not bulky, and is thereby easier to store, transport, set and/or hide; the device may be readily boiled or waxed to remove human scent; parts of the device do not separate from the device during operation; parts of the device do not hinder or interfere with the operation of the device; a high level of expertise is not required to repair or operate the device; the device is easy to manufacture at an economical cost; and, the trapper is not encumbered with the expense and availability problems of replacement parts as is en-countered with respect to known devices.
The trap operates independent of fluctuations in the weather and may be set in one of any number of ways, such as, on the ground, under snow or leaves, secured to a tree, etc. in any orientation. Furthermore, the trap ~ay be used on any type of terrain in order to trap a wide variety of animals of any size.
Further advantages that may be achieved by use of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of example only, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings;
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment showing . ~
the trap in the set position.
Figure 2 is a view of the preferred embodiment of the snare component.
Figure 3 is an end view of the release means.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the preferred hairpin spring in the neutral position.
The animal trap, as illustrated in Figure 1, comprises a snare component as illustrated in Figure 2, and a resilient means comprising a hair-pin spring as illustrated in Figure 3.
The preferred embodiment comprises a spring element 10 in the form of a hairpin spring, which in its rest position has two widely spaced arms 11 and 12. The two arms are connected by a coil or coils 13 for storing energy when the trap is in the set position. The snare component comprises a standing portion 14 and a loop portion 15, standing portion 14 being threaded through the loop portion as is well known.
The standing portion 14 is tied or otherwise fastened to an end 16 of the arm 12 and is threaded through an opening 17 in the arm 11. At a predetermined distance from the end of the standing portion 14, a knot or ferrule 18 is provided. This is intended to mate with the opening 17. Opening 17 comprises a key-hole shaped opening having a wide portion 19 and a narrow portion 20, in a widened and flattened end of arm 11. The knot or ferrule 18 is dimensioned to move freely through the widened portion 19 but to engage the narrow portion 20. Thus, to set the trap, the two arms 11 and 12 are biased together and the ferrule or knot 18 is slipped over the narrow portion 20 of the opening 17. A safety catch 21 is provided to hold the trap in the set position until the trapper is ready to free the trap, after which in known manner the safety catch 21 is released.
4~
The snare loop 15, once engaged by an animal, which will usually pass through the loop until the latter is about the animal's neck, moves the knot or ferrule 18 free of the narrow portion 20 of the opening 17 and into the widened portion 19, releasing the spring from a set position so that there is a sudden violent movement of the spring 10 which slides the end of the loop 17 and tightens it about the neck of the animal. It will be noted that the keyhole is oriented so that the wide portion 19 is closest to the end of arm 11, to ensure that the natural movement of the animal will pull the knot or ferrule 18 into the widened portion. It is to be hoped that when the trap is released the violence of movement of the spring will not only strangle the animal but break its neck to minimize its pain. The effectiveness of the sudden movement to achieve this end can be enhanced by attaching a weight 22 to the arm as shown.
The trap may be secured to a tree or to the ground by means of a chain 23, so that in the unlikely event that an animal that is not immediately killed or strangled by the snare, the animal cannot drag the trap away with it.
The trap can be suspended from a tree with the loop end of the hairpin spring upward so that an animal passing the tree will walk into the loop.
The hairpin spring 10 may be formed from any suitable strong, resilient steel, preferably rust resistant. The snare component will normally be wire, plastic coated wire, or a suitable strong plastic. Other materials may be selected by those skilled in the art for particular applications.
While a hairpin spring has been illustrated as a preferred embodiment, it will occur to those skilled in the art that other configurations of spring could be used with equal effect.
' - -, '
Conventional animal traps include the snare type or spring loaded jaw type traps. Both these types of traps, however, suffer from substantial disadvantages in that the traps are generally inefficient, inhumane and impractical. _ Common spring loaded jaw type traps, although efficient in trapping the animals, are inhumane in that a quick kill of the animal is not ensured.
The trapped animal thereby suffers, often gnawing off a limb in order to ; escape. Moreover, certain known jaw type traps, such as the Coni Bear #
330*, contain parts that separate from the trap upon it being sprung. These parts frequently are lost or impede the operation of the device. The replacement of lost parts is not only expensive, but may also be difficult in remote trapping locations.
Conventional snare type traps are also inhumane in that the tightening of the snare loop around the animal is often dependent upon the force placed upon the loop by the struggling animal.
Attempts have been made to combine certain advantages of snare type traps with those of jaw type traps. These combination devices, however, also have disadvantages similar to those of spring loaded jaw type traps. In particular, combination devices are quite complex in construction, thereby tending to malfunction in operation, particularly when used in the extreme climatic conditions that are often encountered by trappers. Such complex devices tend not to be sturdy, and to suffer from corrosion as a result of * Trade mark - 1 -.
the accumulation of moisture and dirt amongst the many parts. Constant maintenance of the device is required.
The complexity of known devices also results in problems in the field. In particular, known devices are bulky, rendering them difficult to hide when set, as well as to store or transport when not in use. Moreover, devices such as that disclosed in Canadian Patent Serial No. 1,030,347, granted on May 2nd, 1978 to King et al, must be set in a particular orientation (i.e. vertical) thereby reducing the probability of an animal being snared by the trap. Known devices are also difficult to boil or wax in order to remove human scent. Some known devices include separate trigger mechanisms which extend partly across the snare loop, thereby eliminating one of the principle advantages of the snare type trap, namely, unimpeded passage of the animal into the snare loop.
; The aforementioned disadvantages may be overcome by the trap accord-ing to the invention. According to the invention there is provided, in an animal trap of the type comprising a snare having a loop and a standing portion having a free end, the standing portion being extendable to close the loop about an animal's neck, and resilient means acting between the free end and the loop, the resilient means being adapted to be biased to a set position wherein the loop is open, and released to close the loop, the resilient means being locked in a biased position by being fixedly secured to the free end of the standing loop and releasably secured by a lock to the standing portion between the free end and the loop whereby release of the biasing means closes the loop quickly, the improvement wherein the lock comprises release means on the standing portion and the biasing means for mutual engage-ment to set the trap, said release means comprising an opening having a ' , ~ ' .
~L~1;2a3 4~, restricted portion in the biasing means, and a mating stop on the standing portion, engagement of the mating stop with the restricted portion retaining the trap in a set position and release of the stop from the restricted port~on releasing the biasing means to close the loop.
The trap described above eliminates many of the disadvantages associated with more complex devices. In particular; malfunctions in the device are reduced, particularly those malfunctions associated with unfavourable climatic conditions; maintenance requirements are reduced; no special tools are required to set, operate, or repair the device; the device is not bulky, and is thereby easier to store, transport, set and/or hide; the device may be readily boiled or waxed to remove human scent; parts of the device do not separate from the device during operation; parts of the device do not hinder or interfere with the operation of the device; a high level of expertise is not required to repair or operate the device; the device is easy to manufacture at an economical cost; and, the trapper is not encumbered with the expense and availability problems of replacement parts as is en-countered with respect to known devices.
The trap operates independent of fluctuations in the weather and may be set in one of any number of ways, such as, on the ground, under snow or leaves, secured to a tree, etc. in any orientation. Furthermore, the trap ~ay be used on any type of terrain in order to trap a wide variety of animals of any size.
Further advantages that may be achieved by use of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of example only, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings;
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment showing . ~
the trap in the set position.
Figure 2 is a view of the preferred embodiment of the snare component.
Figure 3 is an end view of the release means.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the preferred hairpin spring in the neutral position.
The animal trap, as illustrated in Figure 1, comprises a snare component as illustrated in Figure 2, and a resilient means comprising a hair-pin spring as illustrated in Figure 3.
The preferred embodiment comprises a spring element 10 in the form of a hairpin spring, which in its rest position has two widely spaced arms 11 and 12. The two arms are connected by a coil or coils 13 for storing energy when the trap is in the set position. The snare component comprises a standing portion 14 and a loop portion 15, standing portion 14 being threaded through the loop portion as is well known.
The standing portion 14 is tied or otherwise fastened to an end 16 of the arm 12 and is threaded through an opening 17 in the arm 11. At a predetermined distance from the end of the standing portion 14, a knot or ferrule 18 is provided. This is intended to mate with the opening 17. Opening 17 comprises a key-hole shaped opening having a wide portion 19 and a narrow portion 20, in a widened and flattened end of arm 11. The knot or ferrule 18 is dimensioned to move freely through the widened portion 19 but to engage the narrow portion 20. Thus, to set the trap, the two arms 11 and 12 are biased together and the ferrule or knot 18 is slipped over the narrow portion 20 of the opening 17. A safety catch 21 is provided to hold the trap in the set position until the trapper is ready to free the trap, after which in known manner the safety catch 21 is released.
4~
The snare loop 15, once engaged by an animal, which will usually pass through the loop until the latter is about the animal's neck, moves the knot or ferrule 18 free of the narrow portion 20 of the opening 17 and into the widened portion 19, releasing the spring from a set position so that there is a sudden violent movement of the spring 10 which slides the end of the loop 17 and tightens it about the neck of the animal. It will be noted that the keyhole is oriented so that the wide portion 19 is closest to the end of arm 11, to ensure that the natural movement of the animal will pull the knot or ferrule 18 into the widened portion. It is to be hoped that when the trap is released the violence of movement of the spring will not only strangle the animal but break its neck to minimize its pain. The effectiveness of the sudden movement to achieve this end can be enhanced by attaching a weight 22 to the arm as shown.
The trap may be secured to a tree or to the ground by means of a chain 23, so that in the unlikely event that an animal that is not immediately killed or strangled by the snare, the animal cannot drag the trap away with it.
The trap can be suspended from a tree with the loop end of the hairpin spring upward so that an animal passing the tree will walk into the loop.
The hairpin spring 10 may be formed from any suitable strong, resilient steel, preferably rust resistant. The snare component will normally be wire, plastic coated wire, or a suitable strong plastic. Other materials may be selected by those skilled in the art for particular applications.
While a hairpin spring has been illustrated as a preferred embodiment, it will occur to those skilled in the art that other configurations of spring could be used with equal effect.
' - -, '
Claims (6)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In an animal trap of the type comprising a snare having a loop and a standing portion, having a free end the standing portion being extendable to close the loop about an animals neck, and resilient means acting between the free end and the loop, the resilient means being adapted to be biased to a set position wherein the loop is open, and released to close the loop, the resilient means being locked in a biased position by being fixedly secured to the free end of the standing loop and releasably secured by a lock to the standing portion between the free end and the loop, whereby release of the biasing means closes the loop quickly, the improvement wherein the lock comprises release means on the standing portion and the biasing means for mutual engagement to set the trap, said release means comprising an opening having a restricted portion in the biasing means, and a mating stop on the standing portion, engagement of the mating stop with the restricted portion retaining the trap in a set position and release of the stop from the restricted portion releasing the biasing means to close the loop.
2. The trap defined in claim 1 wherein the resilient means comprises a hairpin spring having first and second ends, the first end of said hairpin spring being secured to the free end of the standing portion and the second end having a keyhole shaped opening through to which the standing portion is threaded the stop on the standing portion being engagable with a narrow part of the keyhole shaped opening and freely passable through an enlarged part of the keyhole shaped opening, whereby a lateral pull of the loop will slide the stop off the narrow portion to release the spring to close the loop.
3. The trap defined in claim 2 wherein the stop is a ferrule secured to the standing portion.
4. The trap defined in claim 2 wherein the stop is a knot in the standing portion.
5. The trap defined in claim 2 wherein the stop is a constriction in the standing portion.
6. The trap defined in claim 2 wherein the hairpin spring comprises at least one looped portion joining said arms.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA366,057A CA1112042A (en) | 1980-12-03 | 1980-12-03 | Humane snare |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA366,057A CA1112042A (en) | 1980-12-03 | 1980-12-03 | Humane snare |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1112042A true CA1112042A (en) | 1981-11-10 |
Family
ID=4118625
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA366,057A Expired CA1112042A (en) | 1980-12-03 | 1980-12-03 | Humane snare |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1112042A (en) |
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4561207A (en) * | 1983-05-06 | 1985-12-31 | Her Majesty The Queen In Right Of Canada, As Represented By The Minister Of Natural Resources | Pin release for animal trap |
| US4581844A (en) * | 1985-01-23 | 1986-04-15 | Canadian Patents And Development Limited | Snare type humane animal trap |
| FR2579419A1 (en) * | 1985-04-02 | 1986-10-03 | Bosse Yves | Noose trap |
| WO1997011599A1 (en) * | 1995-09-26 | 1997-04-03 | Hugh Quentin Rose | Animal foot trap |
| FR3001863A1 (en) * | 2013-02-11 | 2014-08-15 | Andre Gerard Jacques Marie Maruejouls | Lace trap for capturing alive animals i.e. fox, has bed plate, and spring that is allowed to ensure projection and closing of lace on leg of animal by utilizing guidance and tightening element when spring is slackened |
-
1980
- 1980-12-03 CA CA366,057A patent/CA1112042A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4561207A (en) * | 1983-05-06 | 1985-12-31 | Her Majesty The Queen In Right Of Canada, As Represented By The Minister Of Natural Resources | Pin release for animal trap |
| US4581844A (en) * | 1985-01-23 | 1986-04-15 | Canadian Patents And Development Limited | Snare type humane animal trap |
| FR2579419A1 (en) * | 1985-04-02 | 1986-10-03 | Bosse Yves | Noose trap |
| WO1997011599A1 (en) * | 1995-09-26 | 1997-04-03 | Hugh Quentin Rose | Animal foot trap |
| AU712643B2 (en) * | 1995-09-26 | 1999-11-11 | Hugh Quentin Rose | Animal foot trap |
| FR3001863A1 (en) * | 2013-02-11 | 2014-08-15 | Andre Gerard Jacques Marie Maruejouls | Lace trap for capturing alive animals i.e. fox, has bed plate, and spring that is allowed to ensure projection and closing of lace on leg of animal by utilizing guidance and tightening element when spring is slackened |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |