Assessment of the Kania trap to humanely kill red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in enclosures.

The Kania trap equipped with side wings and baited with a pine cone quickly killed nine of nine red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in enclosures. Mean times to loss of consciousness and heartbeat were estimated at < or = 65 sec and < or = 91 sec, respectively, after firing the trap. Thus the Kania can be expected to render > or = 70% of captured red squirrels irreversibly unconscious in < or = 3 min (P < 0.05).