OneKind wholeheartedly welcomes the announcement from the Scottish Labour Party that, if it forms the next government in Scotland, it will ban the use of snares.
OneKind supporter and animal welfare campaigner Brian May was among the first to back the move, saying he was delighted to see a strong commitment on snaring in the Labour manifesto, after being “very disappointed when the Scottish Parliament threw out the movement to end the barbaric practice of setting snares”.
The Scottish Green Party has a long-standing commitment to banning snares, but other parties have not yet supported this stance.
Last month, the Scottish Parliament passed new measures under the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, aimed at regulating the use of these cruel, indiscriminate traps, and to try to improve operator practice.
But the regulations are highly complex and the public who come across snares in Scotland’s countryside will have difficulty identifying snares which breach the rules and need to be reported to the authorities. The training for operators is being delivered by the gamekeeping industry without any independently provided animal welfare or veterinary content.
Regrettably, we do not believe that these measures can end the suffering of thousands of animals every year. The only way to protect Scotland’s wildlife, and non-target victims such as livestock and pets, is to ban the use of snares altogether. We hope that other parties will make the same pledge.
Please, if you live in Scotland, would you ask your Scottish Parliament election candidates what they plan to do about snaring and other animal welfare issues?