Released to press on 14 June 2017
A leading animal welfare charity is calling for a ban on the use of stink pits in Scotland.It comes ahead of a debate lodged by Christine Grahame MSP called Stink Pits Stink. Motion S5M-05662 which will be debated in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 15th June.
Stink pits are used by gamekeepers across Scotland as a fundamental part of predator control on shooting estates. These pits or piles of dead animals are filled with bait such as wildlife carcasses, fish heads and other animal remains. The smell of decomposing animals is then used to lure foxes towards the bait with snares set around the pits to catch them.
Sarah Moyes, OneKind Campaigner said:
“We welcome Christine Grahame’s debate on stink pits tomorrow and hope it leads to some serious conversations about the future of these barbaric pits. We have found foxes, deer, pink-footed geese, mountain hares and even domestic cats in stink pits. There gamekeepers who make these pits show absolutely no respect for animals at all.”
OneKind is calling for the use of stink pits to be reviewed as a matter of urgency and want to see them banned altogether on ethical, animal welfare and public health grounds.
Sarah Moyes continued:
“Stink pits are nothing more than a pile of wildlife carcasses left to rot in the countryside in order to kill even more animals in the most cruel and inhumane way. It’s disgraceful that farmers in Scotland are not permitted to bury livestock on their land, yet gamekeepers are allowed to kill and dump dead animals as they wish.”
ENDS
Notes to editor:
1. OneKind is a Scottish animal protection charity working to end cruelty to Scotland’s animals.
For further information or photographs please contact Sarah Moyes on 0131 661 9734sarah.moyes@onekind.org
To keep up to date with our work please follow us on Twitter @onekindtweet and on Facebook www.facebook.com/onekindfb