One of the traps used by the city to kill beavers was displayed before the Oshawa council vote on Wednesday. (CBC)

Councillors in Oshawa, Ont., have put a stop to the lethal trapping of a handful of beavers at an artificial pond in a city creek after a public uproar.

In a vote held Wednesday night, city council passed a motion calling for the moratorium on the traps at a pond at Goodman Creek.

Council estimates there are about three to six beavers living in the pond, which was built in 1992 at a cost of $3 million to help protect nearby homes against flooding caused by storms.

There were concerns that the dams the beavers had built in the pond would compromise the effectiveness of that system and leave some homes susceptible to flooding.

In response, council decided in June to install metal traps to take care of the problem. The traps snap closed with great force when activated, either killing the beavers outright or immobilizing them until they drown.

The council's move prompted an outcry from residents, many of whom said the community had not been adequately consulted.

About 50 Oshawa residents also attended Wednesday's vote, among them Jack Snedden, who fished out a number of traps from the creek last week.

He said he's pleased they won't be used anymore.

"This shouldn't have gone this far if they had debated this the first time properly," he said. "Hopefully they would have [come] to this decision … back then, but who knows what's going to happen next year."

Several councillors dismissed fears of flooding at the vote, Tito-Dante Marimpietri among them.

"It was about getting to the bottom line, which was dealing with the issue on the basis of what the community wanted," he said. "And I think at the end of the day the community is our best consultant."

Council will meet again to try to come up with alternate solutions for the issue.