Cruel, indiscriminate, primitive – and legal. Why?
As the pheasant shooting season gets underway this month, OneKind is launching a high profile campaign calling on the UK Government to consult on the issue with a view to banning these cruel and outdated traps used mainly on shooting estates. In March 2012 DEFRA published an inconclusive report into the extent of use and the humaneness of snares which included extensive evidence of their cruel and indiscriminate nature.
Eighteen months on from the report being released the Government has yet to take any action to address the serious animal welfare implications highlighted through its own research. Although snares are used mainly on sporting estates to protect game birds from fox predation, snares regularly trap all sorts of animals including deer, badgers, otters, livestock and domestic pets. We believe that snares are cruel, indiscriminate and primitive yet are still legal.
Cruel Any snare can twist and tighten around its victim, causing injuries or a long slow death by strangulation. Any snare can leave a trapped animal thirsty, hungry, exposed and terrified.
Indiscriminate Even snare users regularly report non-target capture rates of over 60%; and field trials for DEFRA – using so-called “best practice” – captured badgers, hares, deer, pheasant and even a dog. The snare does not select its victim, catching young, old, pregnant or lactating individuals at random.
Primitive A leading veterinary pathologist Professor Ranald Munro described snares as: “...primitive indiscriminate traps that are recognised as causing widespread suffering to a range of animals.” Yet still, in the 21st century, it is perfectly legal to use them.
Legal Despite overwhelming public opposition, the UK government and devolved administrations continue to expose animals to the torture of snaring.
The time has come ban these cruel and indiscriminate traps. Until that day comes, we cannot call ourselves a “nation of animal lovers”.
We’ve produced has a short film which shows footage of animals which have been caught in snares on estates around the UK. The majority of the snares featured in the film are legal – some are illegal due to their position - and show live animals which have been trapped and suffering from pain and stress.
As part of the campaign against snares we are gathering evidence on snaring across the UK. If you come across any examples of snaring you can help us by reporting them on our Snarewatch site. We will keep you updates as to other ways you can help shortly.