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Lethal ?
All spring traps used in the UK must be approved under The Spring Traps Approval Act.
A list of spring traps approved as being suitable for grey squirrels can be viewed on the DEFRA website.
All users must satisfy themselves that their traps comply with the requirements of
the act and are employed in accordance with the current legislation and a correct
risk-
There is however, a misconception that the large spring on this trap provides much greater killing power than other traps. In fact, spring design calculations indicate that due to this spring’s geometry (coil diameter, body length, eccentricity of applied load from coil axis, friction loss etc) it actually needs to be this size to satisfy the legal criteria mentioned above and which all approved spring traps comply with.
The springs’ in these traps are very powerful. When these traps are set, never allow hands past the tunnel entrance. These traps have the potential to severely damage the human hand!
Always correctly position spring traps and protect them from non-
It is the users’ responsibility to ensure that traps are employed humanely and in accordance with the law.
Kania
Mk 4 Fenn Spring Trap
The Fenn Trap is named after the inventor and clones manufactured by other makers are known by the same generic name “Fenn Trap.”
The Fenn Trap has an ingenious and effective mechanism. It has a tendency to jump when triggered and therefore, to ensure a clean kill, it must always be set inside an appropriate tunnel or container. When used correctly the Fenn Trap is excellent for squirrels and rats.
To ensure animals are dispatched quickly and humanely, all approved spring traps have been tested to assure that they exceed threshold mechanical characteristics in terms of effective mass, velocity, impact force and clamping action.
The following two examples illustrate the diversity of designs available.
This example comprises a metal box enclosure with a front access opening and a rear bait compartment. It incorporates a torsion spring coiled about an axis normal to the front entrance and having tangentially extending free end arms. This trap provides a high degree of certainty of killing and a high degree of safety for the trapper when setting.