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[TheEvilSocky]

So I'm having a great time playing (really the game of my dreams) and so far I have one minor issue which doesn't seem to be addressed anywhere, moving/handling caged hostiles, most guides I've read glaze over it as if its as simple as requesting them moved, however the last time I tried moving goblin cages they broke out and there was quite a to do in my storage area (only casualty was one of my war dogs) as an extension of this question I'd like to also ask how to only move occupied cages for proper torture/murder disposal.

[Larix]

In vanilla, a creature cannot escape from a cage. Goblins and other hostile can get loose when you order the cage brought to the depot - dwarfs remove non-tradeable goods from containers before bringing the container to the trading station. In this case, cages are considered containers, and goblins non-tradeable creatures, so the goblin is removed, i.e. released. The obvious solution is to not order cages with hostiles inside brought to the depot...

Captured creatures are generally safe to handle - they can be brought to a chain, dumped into a pit, moved from one cage to another, all without breaking loose of their handlers or disturbing the fort citizens. Just don't lead them around within sight of an occupied depot, caravan guards will usually take offence and attack such creatures, which can lead to much hilarity.
Captured creatures inside cages are even safer, they won't interact with the outside world at all, apart from the caveat re. trading occupied cages.

[Rohain]

The above is not entirely true.  When creatures are pitted/ponded they have some ability to break free and cause mischief throughout the fort.  Flyers, Titans, thieves, and some other creatures will break loose during the pitting process.  The best way to place these hostiles is to place them in a cage, link the cage to a lever, and open them that way. 

[Garath]

I have no experience pitting anything, but when moving them to a new cage, sometimes visiting guards and the like attack the prisoner. If they get lucky they dodge out of their mind control bonds while dodging blows. Those are the only escapes I ever had.

[TheEvilSocky]

Ah there were merchants at my fortress at the time of the escape, so either first or third suggests are possible, ( i dont remeber many of the specifics of the event clearly and I also mistakenly sold the clearly ELVEN caravan a fox in a wooden cage) regardless though ill have to spend the next couple of days bolstering defenses rather than disposal technology, but I will make sure to reference this thread whenever I'm ready to move prisoners again,

Many thanks.

[Will_Tuna]

there is a good article for a pitting zone on the DFwiki.  palce an animal storage (animal stockpile ,no empty cages alowed). above a room, seperate it with a few Floorhatches above empty spaces between the 2 floors

you can do it like so : (x=stockpile, H = floorhatch) (also easy to expand)

XXXXXX
XHXXHX
XXXXXX

then set the whole are as a PIT (pres (I) to use designated zones)
each stockpiletile has a floorhatch Tile. the animal/enemy will be put from the cage, directly into the pit, without seeing any daylight.
Just make sure the pit itself is closed of.
You can set the stockpile to goblins/trolls only

[Chaia]

Afaik there is also the possibility, if you leave the cages unattended in the cage traps, the prisoner will break free sooner or later (something about a year or so after he was caged)

[Bandreus]

Generally speaking, handling caged prisoners is very safe, at least if you know what you're doing.

If you simply want cages to be moved around your fort, you can create a secondary animal stockpile, setting it to only accept the wished creature types (i.e. Goblins) and "taking" from your main animal stockpile.

Alternatively you can simply build a given cage wherever you please (possibly linking the cage to a lever, allowing you to release the prisoner in a safer way). Reading about Mass Pitting (which is what Will was talking about) is highly advisable.

Lastly, I believe creatures with the GNAWER tag can at times escape from cages (very easily too if the cage is made out of wood). Though I think that only applies to various types of Vermin, as far as vanilla is concerned.

[Reelya]

Afaik there is also the possibility, if you leave the cages unattended in the cage traps, the prisoner will break free sooner or later (something about a year or so after he was caged)

Never had this happen. But, checking the wiki gave this:

Cage quality, however, can be important: due to a bug, creatures can eventually escape from artifact cages, but not from lower-quality cages (presumably the opposite of the intended behavior).

So, it should be safe as long as your cages aren't made with a strange mood.

[Garath]

Afaik there is also the possibility, if you leave the cages unattended in the cage traps, the prisoner will break free sooner or later (something about a year or so after he was caged)

Never had this happen. But, checking the wiki gave this:

Cage quality, however, can be important: due to a bug, creatures can eventually escape from artifact cages, but not from lower-quality cages (presumably the opposite of the intended behavior).

So, it should be safe as long as your cages aren't made with a strange mood.

It came up too some time ago, Q explained what it was and what caused this behavior, but I forgot already