Animal trap

Abstract

An improved animal trap apparatus for capturing prey without injuring same, comprised of an upper enclosure means of light weight and flexible netting or mesh material supported by poles or rods arranged in a self-supporting manner.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An improved animal trap apparatus for capturing prey, said apparatus comprising: 
 upper enclosure means that are essentially light-weight, flexible, planar and see-through, having a perimeter and an intermediate area within said perimeter,    said upper enclosure means being attached by a plurality of attachment means at a plurality of sites essentially beneath a plurality of elongate essentially rigidly flexible support members, thereby forming an essentially hangingly-supported enclosure means,    said support members being cooperatively arranged in relation to themselves and substratum so as to produce a cavity defined by the substratum and said supported enclosure means,    said supported enclosure means having anchor means for anchoring said supported enclosure means in close enough proximity to the substratum to prevent exit from said cavity by prey,    said supported enclosure means having at least one  1 -way-only entrance providing prey with ingress into said cavity without exit.    
     
     
         2 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1 , wherein said upper enclosure means are comprised of essentially netting material.  
     
     
         3 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein said upper enclosure means is selected from the group consisting of nylon netting and mesh fabric, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         4 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein said support members are comprised of rigidly flexible poles.  
     
     
         5 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein said support members are selected from the group consisting of fiberglass or nylon rods and poles, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         6 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein each of said support members is comprised of a plurality of sub-poles, removably attached end-to-end to another sub-pole by sub-pole attachment means at opposite ends.  
     
     
         7 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 4  wherein said support members are arranged in the shape of an essentially inverted “U,” with said upper enclosure means being supported thereby and, in conjunction with substratum, defining said cavity within said inverted “U.” 
     
     
         8 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein said anchor means anchor opposite ends of said support members in cooperative relationship with each other so that said supported enclosure means defines a self supporting cavity enclosure atop the substratum.  
     
     
         9 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 8  hereinabove, wherein each of said anchor means is comprised of a means of fixing said opposing ends of each of said support members in cooperative relationship with the other of said opposing ends so as to essentially bow each of said support members into an essentially inverted “U” shape.  
     
     
         10 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 9  hereinabove, wherein said anchor means are attached to essentially planar flooring material, said flooring material also being attached at relatively short intervals along said perimeter of said supported enclosure means, said anchoring means fixing said opposing ends of each of said support members in cooperative relationship with the other of said opposing ends so as to essentially bow each of said support members into an essentially inverted “U” shape.  
     
     
         11 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein said support members are attached to said anchor means so as to be essentially self-supporting.  
     
     
         12 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1  wherein said attachment means are selected from the group consisting of clamps, hooks, hooks with corresponding eyelets and tubes, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         13 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1 , further comprising a prey catch box having at least one 1-way-only exit passageway through and detachably attached to said enclosure means and near the perimeter thereof, leading into an enclosed holding area.  
     
     
         14 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1 , further comprising an angular design whereby said trap is conformed in an essentially “L” shaped floorplan arrangement.  
     
     
         15 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 14  hereinabove, wherein at least one 1-way-only prey entrance is situated in an interior crook of said “L” shaped arrangement.  
     
     
         16 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 1 , further comprising an entrance for human ingress and egress.  
     
     
         17 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 16  hereinabove, wherein said human entrance comprises a slit in said upper enclosure means, naturally in a closed position but able to be temporarily forced opened by a human to permit human use.  
     
     
         18 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 10 , further comprising flotation means attached to the perimeter of the enclosure material.  
     
     
         19 . An improved animal trap as described in  claim 18 , wherein said flotation means are selected from the group consisting of flotation material and inflatable tube design, and combinations thereof, incorporated into the design of the trap apparatus.