Question about trapping animals.

So, if a hunter sets a trap for an animal (What kind of game is trapped anyway? Beavers? Muskrats?:confused: )When the hunter goes out daily to check his trap, and finds there is a live animal caught…what is the legal way of killing the animal? Shot it? pound it over the head? What do the teach in those DNR classes? I’m interested in what the LEGAL method is, not the best or most used. I’m certain that my Uncle the trapper just hits them over the head with a boat oar, but I’m guessing that’s not legal.

Or is it?

How about as quickly and painless as possible?

There are traps that are called “kill-type” traps that kill the animal instead of merely catching it. Otherwise, I don’t see anything offhand that specifies “legal” methods for killing trapped animals. It only seems to be specified that it has to be “humane”, so a killing method that was not humane would thus not be legal.

And it looks to me like Uncle Bob is in line with currently accepted practice.

http://www.mntrappers.com/trapchecking.html

http://www3.gov.ab.ca/srd/fw/trapping/code.html

http://www.gov.mb.ca/natres/wildlife/hunt_trap/trapping_guide/humane.html