Patent attributes
There is described an improved one-way door for a humane animal trap of the type comprising a box-shaped enclosure having an opening at one end, and a hinged one-way door adapted to close said opening and also to swing freely upward into the enclosure to permit entry into the enclosure by an animal, then to fall back under the force of gravity to a closed position that traps the animal within the enclosure. The improved trap door has an upper portion comprising apertures sufficient to enable ample airflow into the trap and a weighted lower portion that speeds the drop of the door and that also lowers the center of gravity of the door, and that of the trap as a whole, and thereby functions to enhance the stability of the trap to reduce trap overturns and animal escapes. The apertures in the upper portion of the door provide the animal with an ample supply of air to reduce the stress it is subjected to prior to release. The metal and/or hard plastic composition of the door ensures that the animal will not gnaw a hole in the door to facilitate its escape.