Efficiency of Unpadded and Padded Steel Foothold Traps for Capturing Coyotes

Steel foothold traps are widely used throughout North America to manage and harvest furbearers. Payne (1980) listed 6 incentives for furbearer harvest, 1 of which is to carry out "nuisance" control. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has legislative responsibility for managing coyotes (Canis latrans) that cause damage to livestock (U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. 1978), and trapping is a primary method of achieving this objective. Steel traps are 1 of the most versatile techniques for controlling coyote damage; in 1980 trapping accounted for 36.3% of all coyotes taken by the USFWS Animal Damage Control (ADC) program (Connolly 1982). However, society has become increasingly opposed to steel traps and trapping. Not only have antitrap legislative proposals increased at state levels but a 1984 Federal bill (H.R. 1797) aimed at prohibiting the interstate shipment and sale of traps and furs had the support of 25% of the U.S. House of Representatives (Hoyt 1985). A major concern expressed by opponents of trapping is that foothold traps injure animals. The recent development and sale of paddedjaw traps have stimulated studies to determine the extent to which they reduce injury (Saunders and Rowsell 1984, Olsen et al. 1986, Tullar 1984). Although the above studies indicate that padded traps reduce foot injury of trapped foxes (Vulpes vulpes and Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and coyotes, the effectiveness of these traps is unknown. We studied the efficiency of padded traps so that USFWS managers and administrators could make informed decisions regarding their use.