| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Matt the Rat |
Posted - 04 Dec 2005 : 00:10:12
I' m going to open a can of worms here:
There is a belief in the industry and by the public that cage traps are automatically more humane than spring traps. I believe this stems from the fact that cages are selective. My opinion is that the most inhumane thing you can do to any wild animal is confine it, which makes me less inclined to use cages. The other problem is that you have the thorny issue of dispatch when using cages. A properly sited, and set spring trap should result in instant death for the target species. What do you guys think? |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Northerner |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 23:29:53
Red Alert started to work well. I was in an area around Jedburgh, and after taking over 300 greys in 2 years, we started to see reds in the area. I'm not trying to brag with this figure; I just want to highlight the problem. When I moved to the Scottish Borders in '96, grey scugs were a rare sight. This area is sandwiched between grey territory in the Lothians around Edinburgh, and an advancing army from Durham and South Northumberland. I dare say that when I first started trapping that area in '97, the patch I worked would have yielded about a dozen scugs in a year, and that would be pretty good. To be able to catch 300- odd in 2 years,(2001 to 2003) is bloody scary. We had 2 identified reds in the area at the start of the project. By the end, we had over 30. That gave me the tingle, not the pile of grey tails. Mind, we still had the goshawks!
Just out of curiosity, MM, are you restricted still by county as to the use of warfarin, or can you use it in areas where you can prove no reds exist? Plenty of people have experimented with variable weight trap-doors on the hoppers, that only an adult grey can push open. Some day we will be able to use them all over, because there will be no reds to accidentally poison, and it'll be all-out war for crop (tree) protection. Losing half a pole stage tree crop will motivate far more landowners than the fleeting glimpse of a red scug. Money talks.... |
| massmurderer |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 16:45:42
Northerner,
how did the red alert go up there?.
Where my father now lives had the greys move in a few year back and there's not one red left in the area.We all got sick of shooting the things.But with Cumbria,Durham and Northumberland still not on the list for warfarin it's hard to get on top of them. |
| Fenn Man |
Posted - 04 Dec 2005 : 17:44:01
Pretty much as is being said above, here. I'm perfectly happy to use what ever type of trap the situation, as I see it, calls for. 'Northerner' says it all, for me:
" I would go with the simple rule that if there is any possibility of catching a non-target animal, use a cage. "
For my self, I also like the fact that I can leave a Cage down and it just sits there, becoming part of the enviroment, untill a pest tries to become part of that same enviroment. Then I bait it. Works for me.
Obviously, we thus avoid any issues of leaving lethals (springs or poison) down on a 'just in case' basis.
In a more 'wild' situation? Springs in tunnels, pretty well every time.
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| Northerner |
Posted - 04 Dec 2005 : 16:27:26
I would go with the simple rule that if there is any possibility of catching a non-target animal, use a cage. If you can be sure, use the spring trap. I am an ex- keeper/stalker/forester, have learned the hard way, and have had a major involvement in the grey eradication programme in the Scottish Borders- Red Alert, it is called. It has a web site which is very interesting. As part of the programme, we used cages, sticky tube feeders to sample hair and therefore presence or otherwise of reds, and collected post-mortem samples from greys to monitor parapox virus. Sampling is important, as you cannot poison hopper bait or use Fenns for scugs in any 10 km square that contains reds. Stands to reason, then, that you can't always use one or the other exclusively. |
| NickA |
Posted - 04 Dec 2005 : 10:26:41
 I use cage traps in certain situations and Fenns in tunnels for others.
Animals caught in cages if they are sheltered or covered tend not to charge around a lot,only if they can see daylight and danger approaching.
Spring traps you can set for species,very fine or slightly heavier,occassionally will get a foul trap caught by leg.Only had squirrels caught like thatand in 30 years just moved onto second hand for counting.
But coming from Forestry,shooting,keepering background you learn the hard way on traps.
Who has left the safety on fenn traps-not done it yet but nearly a few times.
Prevention for protection |
| massmurderer |
Posted - 04 Dec 2005 : 01:27:26
A caught animal in a cage trap will soon settle down until someone goes near it to do the deed quickly and as we all should know it is illegal to trap protected species.
In cage traps you have the option to either release or humanely dispatch the quarry if it is a target species.
Fair enough i never apart from once caught a non targat in the fenn traps and i ran nearly 200 all year round but i've had a cat in these stupid bloody kanias and i followed the manufactures instructions now i won't use them.
The only reason a lot of people will only use the likes of the kania is because they have'nt got the knowledge to use fenns,springers etc. as well as cages.People who were or are keepers will tell you it has a hell of a lot to do with knowledge about the way the animal moves,thinks and behaves.
That's the problem between keepers and people who come into the p.c.o. job.P.C.O'S read from books mainly,keepers learn through not catching and carry out a mental note and make sure they get the target the next time. |
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