Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Snares are ancient tools, used since prerecorded time. Many advancements and improvements have been made in the 21st century, including aircraft cable, snare locks, swivels, and breakaway devices. Though still a popular capture tool in many parts of North America, their prevalence has declined worldwide and in some parts of the United States. I describe current snaring terms, define the difference between snares and cable restraints, summarize all commercially available snare and cable restraint components, and provide a general description of their use. I also point out some shortcomings in the current literature. I hope this will shed new light on an old tool.