WO2010129706A1

WO2010129706A1 - Enclosure for chemical dose delivery in animals

Info

Publication number: WO2010129706A1
Application number: PCT/US2010/033772
Authority: WO
Inventors: Constance J. Smith
Original assignee: Arizona Board Of Regents On Behalf Of Northern Arizona University
Priority date: 2009-05-05
Filing date: 2010-05-05
Publication date: 2010-11-11

Abstract

Devices and methods for temporarily trapping animals such that the trapped animal may free itself by consuming an edible component of the trap (Fig. 4). Accordingly, the animal can consume a drug and/or other chemical or consumable found in the edible component of the trap in a manner that is dependent upon the size of the animal, the trapping chamber diameter, and the edible component size and thickness.

Description

ENCLOSURE FOR CHEMICAL DOSE DELIVERY IN ANIMALS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

[0001] The invention relates generally to the temporary attraction and/or trapping of animals, and, in one embodiment, more particularly to devices and methods for providing a drug or other consumable to an animal in a measurable manner.

Description of the Related Art

[0002] The trapping of animals is a problem that has been dealt with by mankind for several thousand years, yet the quest to develop a trap that is suitable for every application remains ongoing. Several types of traps have been developed, including those that administer poison and those that use a sprung arm to physically trap or injure the animal. Many such traps are harmful or deadly to the animal being captured, while some traps are even dangerous to the user or to unintended animal victims. Consequently, considerable efforts relative to trapping of rodents and other animals in more human ways have been made over the years.

[0003] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,380 discloses an enclosure housing for capturing a live rodent unharmed. The housing includes a baited enclosure chamber, a one way entrance, and a level ramp that changes positions to trap an animal inside the housing upon attempting to access the bait.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,852, discloses a trap for capturing rodents within a bucket. The trapping device includes an axle having a cylinder rotatably positioned therein. A mounting assembly secures the axle across an open upper end of a container. A ramp extends from ground surface to the upper end of the container, whereby a bait applied to the cylinder will lure a rodent up the ramp and onto the cylinder which rotates to deposit the rodent into the bucket. [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,374 discloses an animal trap having an enclosure attached to a base member, wherein the enclosure pivots downwardly to trap an animal therein. In order to set the trap, the front end of the trap is lifted, usually by lifting an attached flap, and the end of the latch arm is placed at the stop on the upstanding post. The other end of the latch arm is attached to a biasing hinge, which supports the weight of the raised enclosure, and is typically made from a flexible metal. The biasing hinge is also attached to a trigger means via a short arm. The trigger means provides a place for retaining bait and also a shelf for receiving the paws of an animal. The trap is triggered when an animal places sufficient weight on the trigger plate.

[0006] An animal enters the enclosure through a door after ascending a flap that has been lowered to act as a ramp. It then crawls around the U-shaped passage and onto the shelf to get at the bait. The trigger means is supported pivotally by a pin. The weight of the mouse on the shelf pivots the latch arm and integral short arm, which subsequently pulls on the flexible hinge, until the end of the arm is pulled off the post. The enclosure is therefore no longer supported and pivotally falls downwardly onto the base. The flap at the opening is hinged to the bottom of the enclosure, and closes over the doorway of the enclosure, thus trapping the animal.

[0007] Of course, many other types of rodent traps, from pincer types to one way tunnels are also known. The art above describes a myriad of devices intended to trap rodents and other creatures. However, the art generally assumes that traps are designed either to kill or to house animals that will be released at some point by the trap user. In this regard, none of the art is known to address the problem of temporarily trapping an animal that can release itself by consuming an edible part of the trap, thereby dosing the animal with a drug and/or other consumable while minimizing animal stress and handling by the trap user. Furthermore, it may be advantageous for an animal to not be under undue stress during captivity in order for the effect of a drug or other consumable to be reliably assessed.

[0008] Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improved devices and methods for temporarily trapping animals in a manner that minimizes stress and potential for injury and that provides for dosing an animal with an edible drug and/or other chemical or consumable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An animal (e.g., rodent, woodchuck, squirrel, vole, rabbit) enters a chamber, such as a cylinder, while a trap door is up. When the animal is positioned on a trigger, such as a pressure plate connected to a spring-loaded trap door, the trap door closes and the animal is now positioned between the closed trap door and an edible component of trap, such as a bait-containing wafer disposed at the end opposite the trap door, through which the animal can escape by literally eating its way out.

[0010] Preferably, the edible component that blocks the potential escape route possess one or more holes to encourage an animal to investigate and bite into the edible component to gnaw its way out.

[0011] Also preferably, the trapping chamber is designed such that it admits animals of a preselected size or less and/or such that an animal that escapes can receive a confirmable dose of a drug and/or other consumable. Thus, for example, a cylinder of a certain diameter is provided such that a mouse of a particular size or smaller may gain entry. The animal consumes the drug and/or other consumable found in the edible component in a dose-calculatable manner, meaning it is dependent upon the correlated size of the animal, the cylinder diameter and the edible component size and thickness.

[0012] Various other purposes and advantages of the invention will become clear from its description in the specification that follows. Therefore, to the accomplishment of the objectives described above, this invention includes the features hereinafter fully described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, and particularly pointed out in the claims. However, such description discloses only some of the various ways in which the invention may be practiced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Fig. 1 depicts a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention that is transparent to show internal details.

[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates an elevational plan view of an alternate embodiment of the invention.

[0015] Fig. 3 shows a schematic elevational view of a third embodiment of the invention.

[0016] Fig. 4 depicts a fourth embodiment of the invention in schematic elevational view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The invention relates to apparatus and methods for temporarily containing an animal (e.g., rodent, woodchuck, squirrel, vole, rabbit) such that the animal is dosed with a chemical, such as a drug, while escaping from the container or temporary trap.

[0018] Turing to Fig. 1, a container 2 is shown for temporarily housing an animal. The container 2 includes at least two openings (4 and 6) and an edible component 8 that is located proximal to one of the openings (in this case, opening 6) and is in sealing arrangement with the container 2 such that an animal's escape through opening 6 is blocked. In this regard, the edible component 8 preferably is in contact with the inner surface of the container 2 along the edible component's entire circumference as shown. Moreover, the edible component 8 may contain a non-edible material (such as plastic or rubber) disposed upon its surface to create the sealing arrangement with the interior of container 2 and to readily enable the removal and replacement of the edible component.

[0019] The edible component 8 may include or be formed from an edible wafer. Preferably, the edible component includes at least one drug or other chemical. For example, the chemical may be a drug under evaluation or a chemical sterilant. As described in more detail below, apparatus of the invention thus provide a method for dosing an animal with a drug or other chemical.

[0020] As is further shown in Fig. 1, the container 2 preferably is a cylinder (such as PVC pipe). The cylinder may be openable at a location between opening 6 and edible component 8, and thus comprises a first area 10 an a second area 12. The first and second areas 10 and 12 of container 2 may by joined by having a threaded portion 14 that mates with a receiving threaded portion 16. Accordingly, the cylinder is openable by unscrewing the threaded portion 14 of the cylinder from the mated portion 16 of the cylinder, and the edible component 8 may thereby be inspected and/or replaced.

[0021] Also as shown in Fig. 1, opening 4 is adapted for engagement with an opening of a second container 18. Consequently, container 2 maybe added as a module to an existing trap or laboratory container to facilitate the dosing of an animal contained therein, as the animal instinctively will create a hole in the edible wafer large enough to provide escape.

[0022] One of several alterative configurations for a container or trap of the invention is shown in Fig. 2, where the apparatus 20 has two areas 22 and 24 that render the apparatus 20 openable by sliding a frictionally engaged portion 26 from a mated portion 28. Because apparatus 20 is square rather than cylindrical, the edible component (not shown) housed within would assume the same shape so as to form a seal that blocks opening 30. Opening 32 may have a trap door (not shown) or be adapted to couple with a second container.

[0023] Turning to Fig. 3, an apparatus 40 for temporarily containing an animal is shown that includes a container 42 having a pair of openings 44 and 46 at each end of the container, with cut-away portion 48 revealing an edible wafer 50 proximal to opening 46 and a trap door 51 (shown in phantom line) on the interior of container 42 and proximal to opening 44. Preferably, the edible wafer 50 includes at least one hole through which the animal cannot escape without enlarging the size of the hole and is surrounded at its circumference with a non-edible material 51. The hole or holes in the edible wafer 50 are thought to encourage an animal to investigate the potential escape route and bite into the edible component to gnaw its way out.

[0024] As seen through cut-away portion 52, the container 42 further includes a trigger mechanism 54 that actuates the trap door 51 to a closed position based on the presence of and animal inside the cylinder. Many trap door configurations are known in the art, such as those found in HAVAHART-brand humane traps. Furthermore, the trigger mechanism may extend through to the exterior of container 42, where a weight actuated spring 56 or other mechanism actuates an arm 58 that in turn allows a cog wheel 60 to rotate such that external indicator (e.g., flag 62) shows that the trigger 54 has be activated.

[0025] The container further includes a means for securing (such as spike 64) the container 42 to a surface, such as the ground.

[0026] Fig. 4 shows the internal details of a fourth embodiment of the invention 70. Container 72 includes a pair of openings 74 and 76, and, as seen through cut-away portion 78, an edible wafer 80 having holes 81, a trigger mechanism 82 that actuates arm 83 when weight is applied to the mechanism such that trap door 84 (which is spring loaded via spring 86) is released from the open position (shown in phantom line) to assume the closed position. Flag 88 also is raised at this time (which can occur as shown and described by the embodiment of Fig. 3).

[0027] In view of the embodiments above, a method for dosing a captive animal with a chemical is apparent, hi one embodiment, the method includes the step of containing an animal (e.g., mouse 90 of Fig. 4) within a chamber (represented by arrow A) sealed against escape with an edible component, wherein the animal is dosed with a chemical by consuming the edible component while effecting escape from the container (represented by arrow B).

[0028] Preferably, the trapping chamber or container is designed such that it admits animals of a preselected size or less and/or such that an animal that escapes can receive a confirmable dose of a drug and/or other consumable. Thus, for example, a cylinder of a certain diameter is provided such that a mouse of a particular size or smaller may gain entry. The animal consumes the drug and/or other consumable found in the edible component in a dose-calculatable manner, meaning it is dependent upon the correlated size of the animal, the cylinder diameter and the edible component size and thickness.

[0029] An amount of chemical consumed by the animal can be calculated by measuring the amount of the edible component consumed. Even if the "bait" (e.g., edible wafer) is covered with a protective coating of wax to protect the wafer from the elements, the animal will still consume the wax covered bait that contains any drug and excipients in a dose calculated manner. The wax could contain a chemical attractant to increase interest in consumption by the captive animal. There is little trauma to the animal, and risk to field operators and lab personnel is minimized.

[0030] If the animal is still in the device, then the wafer will be intact and the device heavy when retrieved. Of course it is possible that the animal will enter the opposite (non-trap door) end, but if it does, it will also encounter the wafer and possibly consume part of it.

[0031] This bait/drug delivery aspect of the invention allows for multiple dosing and multiple entries, thus expanding its use. The container should be built in a manner such that the wafers can readily and easily be replaced, e.g., by simply unscrewing the container, removing the remaining partially consumed wafer and replacing it with a new one and screwing the container back together. This design allows for the rapid replacement of wafers with different doses and a mechanism with which to quantify how much bait, drug, dietary supplement, etc. was consumed (e.g., one can weigh the wafer and/or calculate the area consumed).

[0032] Such a container could be attached to a sling that could be placed over the shoulder and made easy to carry. Moreover, in addition to or in lieu of one or more spikes, stakes could also be attached (e.g., slipped over the cylinder, in that the stakes could be attached to a hose clamp type device and be tightened down to the container) or built in to facilitate placement of the container in the ground. The stakes could vary in their length/thickness dependent upon the size of the container but would prevent the container from being easily moved. The container also can be placed in burrows, holes, etc.

[0033] Various changes in the details and components that have been described may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and scope of the invention herein described in the specification and defined in the appended claims. Therefore, while the present invention has been shown and described herein in what is believed to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures can be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent processes and products. All references cited in this application are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for temporarily containing an animal, comprising: a container having at least two openings, wherein an edible component is located proximal to one of said openings and is in sealing arrangement with an interior surface of said container such that said animal's escape through said one of said openings is blocked.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the other of said openings is adapted for engagement with an opening of a second container.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a trap door located proximal to the other of said openings and a mechanism that actuates said trap door to a closed position based on the presence of said animal inside the container.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said edible component comprises a edible wafer that includes at least one drug or other chemical.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said edible wafer includes a wax coating disposed thereon.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the edible component includes at least one hole through which said animal cannot escape without enlarging the size of said at least one hole.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said edible wafer contains a non-edible material disposed upon a surface of the wafer that creates said sealing arrangement with said container.

8. A method for dosing a captive animal with a chemical, comprising the step of: containing an animal within a chamber sealed against escape with an edible component, wherein said animal is dosed with said chemical by consuming said edible component while effecting escape from the container.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein an amount of said chemical consumed by the animal is calculated by measuring the amount of said edible component consumed.

10. An apparatus for temporarily containing an animal, comprising: a cylinder having a pair of openings, with one of said opening being disposed at each end of the cylinder; a trap door located proximal to one of said openings; a mechanism that actuates said trap door to a closed position based on the presence of said animal inside the cylinder; and an edible wafer located proximal to the other of said openings opposite the trap door, wherein the edible wafer is in sealing arrangement with an interior surface of said cylinder such that said animal must create a hole in the edible wafer large enough to provide escape.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said edible wafer further includes at least one drug or other chemical.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said edible wafer includes a wax coating disposed thereon.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the edible wafer includes at least one hole through which said animal cannot escape without enlarging the size of said at least one hole.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said edible wafer contains a non-edible material disposed upon a surface of the wafer that creates said sealing arrangement with said cylinder.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, further including an external indicator that said trap door is in the closed position.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said external indicator is a flag actuated by a spring-actuated cog wheel disposed on the outside of said cylinder.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said cylinder is openable by a user at a location that is between the edible wafer and the other of said openings opposite the trap door.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said cylinder is openable by unscrewing a threaded portion of the cylinder from a mated portion of the cylinder.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said cylinder is openable by sliding a frictionally engaged portion of the cylinder from a mated portion of the cylinder.

20. The apparatus of claim 10, further including means for securing said cylinder to a surface.