How Not to Trap a Bobcat

Should you trap a bobcat and release it a good long way from your property? Of course. Liz Klimas has a video showing how not to do this:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/dramatic-video-showing-release-of-a-trapped-bobcat-gets-1-million-hits-in-a-day/

Note how stressed, confused, and angry everyone is...for those who can hear the guys talking, there's a warning of rough language.

I've never trapped a bobcat but I have trapped raccoons, coyotes, and feral dogs, as well as a fair number of feral cats, possums, and groundhogs, and I can say that there's a better way. Buy a box trap. Large predators will squeeze themselves into a raccoon-size trap if they're hungry and like the bait, but the trap will scratch and bruise them and they'll be able to damage the trap in return. If you know that what you want to trap is a bobcat or coyote, it's worth buying a coyote-size trap. Hardware and farm supplies stores sell them for about the cost of a tank of gas for a pickup truck, which you will also need, along with a couple of long, solid sticks or metal poles for loading the trap in and out of the truck.

Leg traps are more likely to do permanent harm to animals. The animals think something is trying to eat them and may bite off their own legs in their effort to escape. Box traps scare animals (a plus point if you want to scare an animal away from your property), but seldom do them any permanent physical harm.