Clue: Sprung trap must be given priority over it? (6)
Answer: RAT-PIT
Explanation: Definition: Sprung trap must be given priority over it
TRAP* + IT, &lit – I thought this would be an old type of rat trap, but not quite: it's "an enclosure where rats are worried by dogs", as used in rat-baiting; so presumably the idea is that modern sprung traps are to be preferred to this