The History of Feet Hunting Traps
When European explorers came to North America, they hoped to find precious metals, spices and other treasures, easily exploited and leading to wealth and riches. Gold, silver and gemstones proved elusive, but what was found was a vast wilderness full of fur-bearing animals. Trappers in search of new species and territories were the true explorers of the continent, and the tools of their trade has a rich history.
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Handmade
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Factory-made steel and iron products were rare in the early days of our history. Everyday items such as door hinges, tools and cooking utensils were products made by blacksmiths who turned iron into steel and steel into tools such as traps. The common style of trap made by blacksmiths is what is now called a long spring. The jaws on these traps were powered shut by one or more lever-type springs. Smithy-made traps tended to be quite large since the technology to manufacture strong spring steel was absent.
Factory Made
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As the country was settled, the demand for animal traps increased to the point businesses sprang up, manufacturing traps on a mass basis. Settlers used the traps for varment control, trapping raccoons, weasels or other animals that would invade chicken coops or raid their gardens and crop fields. Many rural youths ran small trap lines for fox, skunk and muskrats for the value of the pelts. Local buyers and even Sears and Roebuck would purchase the pelts and offer a way for cash-strapped youths and families to earn a few extra dollars each year.
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Smaller Traps
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As factory-made traps became available, animal traps tended to become smaller and stronger. Blacksmith-made traps were called leg hold traps, since when the oversized jaws of the traps closed, they would clamp down high on the animal's leg. The result was sometimes a broken leg bone and a good deal of suffering for the trapped animal. As technology increased, traps powered by strong coil springs were devised that were smaller and stronger for their size. These traps hold the trapped animal by its foot or ankle more like being handcuffed than restrained by brute force. Modern traps are called foothold traps and are often used by biologists to capture and release animals unharmed for research purposes.
Conibear
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Since animals trapped as vermin or for their fur would be dispatched as soon as the trapper arrived, keeping them alive was no advantage to the trapper or the animal. In fact, a trap that would instantly kill the animal, such as a common mousetrap does, had advantages over foot traps. In the 1960s, an inventor named Fred Conibear invented a trap made of strong steel wire and springs that could be set in trails and other places. When snapped, it would close across the neck of an animal, rendering it instantly unconscious and subsequently closing the airway, suffocating the catch before it regained conciousness. Still called Conibear traps, regardless of the manufacturer, these body-gripping traps are widely used.
BMP
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As citizens concerned with animal rights and welfare have become more vocal, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, realizing trapping is a valued tool used by wildlife managers and biologists, set up a multi-year project to determine which sorts of wildlife traps would best capture or control fur-bearing and nuisance wildlife species in the most humane manner. These Best Management Practices (BMPs) standards are now used by state agencies to set requirements and establish the type of traps individuals are allowed to use when trapping wild animals.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit trap image by Kotov from Fotolia.com
