ANIMAL TRAP
A leg-hold trap with spacers so the jaws never fully close.
The animal presses on a bait pan, rotating the trigger and releasing the latch. A compressed U-shaped spring expands and pivots two U-shaped jaws upward toward each other, clamping around any portion of the animal between them. A cylindrical spacer mounted on one jaw leg abuts the opposing jaw leg, stopping the jaws a predetermined distance apart. The animal is held by the leg without its bones being crushed or the appendage severed.
“Furthermore, the leg-hold traps often break the animal's leg. Yet, the leg-hold traps are often preferred due to the inherent advantages they possess over the swinging frame type traps. There is, however, a need for a more humane leg-hold trap.”— Anthony J. Souza, from the specification
And the world did not beat a path to his door.