The Collarum is a new type of live trap that is designed to capture canines (coyote, fox, feral dog, wolf, etc.) by throwing a cable loop over their head and around their neck. It literaly "collars them" to an anchor in the ground.
The design of the Collarum is unique in that the trigger mechanism is canine-specific -- it is activated by the canine tugging on a bait, not pressing on it. The company says that the only animals caught by the Collarum have been canines -- no skunks, badgers, feral cats, or raccoons.
The second unique part of the Collarum is that unlike a regular snare, this device can be set in open ground, as the snare is literally catapulted up over the animal's head -- it does not require the animal to walk through a very narrow gap in a hedge or fence like a regular snare.
The manufacturer claims the Collarum is more effective and humane than other types of traps. Regular snares are not terribly selective, and offset jaw leghold traps can strike an animal wrong in some situations. Box traps are very difficult to trap canines in, as they generally will not enter unless they are very large, are very well-disguised, and are regularly baited for weeks.
The most common injury with a Collarum snare trap occurs with coyotes, as they are large and will fight the "leash" by biting on it. In a study conducted by the Predator Research division of the National Wildlife Research Center, Dept. of Agriculture, (Texas, Feb. 1999), 70% of coyotes caught showed no significant injuries, while the most prevalent damage was to the teeth in approximately 1 of every 5 animals. Most dogs and fox sustain substantially less damage because they fought the leash less than coyotes. For more information and a video, click here.
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