Patent ID: 8230641

Claim:
An animal trap comprising: an animal enclosure having a roof and an animal access opening into a vacant interior sized to receive an animal to be trapped; a door movably mounted at the access opening, the door operative in an opened position to reveal the animal access opening and in a closed position to block the animal access opening; an actuating mechanism including a flexible actuating member having first and second ends, the first end being secured to the door; a latch mechanism for tensioning said actuating member and for releasably securing the second end thereof; a trip mechanism movably mounted in the interior of the animal enclosure; a trigger mechanism between the trip mechanism and the latch mechanism so that when an animal enters the interior of the animal enclosure and moves the trip mechanism from a first position to a second position, the trigger mechanism causes the latch mechanism to release the second end of the actuating member and allow the door to move from the opened position to the closed position thereby trapping the animal in the animal enclosure; and a door lock associated with said door and said actuating mechanism to prevent the door from being opened by a trapped animal when the door is in the closed position and the door lock is engaged with the actuating mechanism, said door lock automatically disengaging from said actuating mechanism upon tensioning of said actuating member.