News

International trap testing guidelines in need of review

Around the world, animals considered pests are often killed or captured using traps. In 1999, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) produced guidelines for the testing of killing and restraining traps, and these guidelines are used as the basis for approving traps worldwide. However, our recent evaluation has demonstrated that the guidelines for testing trap selectivity (a trap’s ability to catch the target species, rather than a non-target species) are fundamentally flawed. These flawed guidelines are being used for the testing and approval of traps, and non-selective traps are being approved as a result. Non-selective trapping has potentially important implications for the conservation of endangered and non-target carnivores, such as the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), and so we recommend that the ISO guidelines on trap selectivity should be reviewed and we suggest how this might be done.

 Sandra Baker, Paul Johnson, David Macdonald and collaborators

Virgós, E., Lozano, J., Cabezas-Díaz, S., Macdonald, D.W., Zalewski, A., Atienza, J.C., Proulx, G., Ripple, W.J., Rosalino, L.M., Santos-Reis, M., Johnson, P.J., Malo, A.F. and Baker, S.E. (2016) A poor international standard for trap selectivity threatens carnivore conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation, doi: 10.1007/s10531-016-1117-7. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-016-1117-7

We have published other research on trap welfare including:

Baker, S.E. & Sharp, T.M. (2015) Welfare in commensal rodent trapping: one step forward, two steps back. Animal Welfare, 24(3): 369-371.

Baker, S.E., Shaw, R.F., Atkinson, R.P.D., West, P. & Macdonald, D.W. (2015) Potential welfare impacts of kill-trapping European moles (Talpa europaea) using scissor traps and Duffus traps: a post-mortem examination study. Animal Welfare, 24(1): 1-14.

Baker, S.E. & Macdonald, D.W. (2012) Not so humane mole tube traps. Animal Welfare, 21(4), 613-615.

Baker, S.E., Ellwood, S.A., Tagarielli, V.L. & Macdonald, D.W. (2012) Mechanical Performance of Rat, Mouse and Mole Spring Traps, and Possible Implications for Welfare Performance. PLoS ONE, 7(6), e39334. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039334.

http://www.plosone.org/article/authors/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0039334