According to Phillips et al. 1996, "Some level of edematous
swelling was noted on nearly all the legs (95%) with no apparent
difference among trap types [see excerpt from table right].
Lacerations were observed in 87% of the legs from unpadded Sterling
and Northwoods traps while only 31% of the coyotes captured in EZ
Grip padded traps received cuts. A higher frequency of more serious
injuries such as joint luxations, major periosteal abrasions, bone
fractures, and amputations were noted in the 2 unpadded traps (Table
1). Major periosteal abrasions were observed in 39% and 26% of the
legs from laminated Northwoods and Sterling MJ600 traps,
respectively. In comparison, only 2% of the legs trapped in EZ Grip
traps showed major periosteal abrasions."
"The Reduced number of injuries for coyotes captured in padded EZ
Grip® traps confirmed the findings of earlier studies (Olsen et al.
1986, Linhart et al. 1988, Onderka et al. 1990). Even though the EZ
Grip padded trap was much larger and stronger than the No. 3 Victor
Soft Catch, injury patterns we observed appeared to be similar for
the 2 traps."
From Phillips, R. L., K. S. Gruver, and E.
S. Williams. 1996. Leg injuries to coyotes captured in three types
of foothold traps. Wildlife Society Bulletin 24(2):260-263.
(Phillips is a Wildlife Research Biologist with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Denver Wildlife Research Center (DWRC), where he
serves as Project Leader for Depredation Control
Techniques.)