Trapping 101 for keepers

Traps play a vital role in gamekeeping. If you are looking to establish new ground for a shoot or simply increase the amount of wild game in your area, knowing how and when to trap is essential. Whether you’re using cages or tunnels to reduce predation, Larsen trapping to protect red-listed birds or snaring to control fox numbers, it’s important that keepers take a broad view of their end goals. For those taking on new ground, successful early trapping will lay the foundations for a prosperous shoot in the year to come.

Almost as soon as the season ends, attention turns to next year’s pheasants and partridges. And it is an ideal time to start implementing a trapping plan. Foxes are paired up and mating, with cubs emerging from mid-February. Small mammals, meanwhile, are a constant danger to eggs and chicks