One of the long pieces with a hook was loose on one end and no longer attached to the ring, so it could pivot in either direction, I thought it was broken but maybe it was made to be this way so the animal could be removed, and was temporarily attached when the trap was set.
Here is the response that I got from the trap expert:
"I have not seen another of this but could be a wicked rat trap. Rat could go in from either end but could not get out. Not sure but it looks like a great piece."
-----
I think it might be too big to trap a rat, I was guessing maybe it was for a woodchuck, anyway, looks like no solid answer for now.
Sounds plausible but I haven't been able to find any similar bait holders to verify this idea.
If it is a trap then I would agree that it's not a great design, but I've seen a number of tools that weren't well thought out so it could just be a poorly designed trap. I would bet this item was not mass produced, if it was the trap expert would have recognized it. If this is the only one of its type in existence then it will be almost impossible to prove one way or the other what it is.
I'm going to stick with the trap answer for now, if the trap expert had suggested it was a bait holder then I would go along with it, but I'm always open to other ideas if anyone finds evidence to the contrary.
Rob