SNP delegates will once again discuss the suffering of animals caught in cruel snares at their annual conference. Today, a fringe meeting chaired by Christine Grahame MSP will be shown recent videos showing a live fox and three live badgers caught in snares on separate shooting estates in Scotland. As well as this, the footage shows how the most recent legislation is being disregarded, with snares continuing to be set in ways that are now illegal.
The Scottish Government continues to support the retention of snaring despite polling that consistently shows that the Scottish public want to see the practice banned. The most recent poll in March 2010 showed that 77% of Scots were opposed to snaring, with the figure among SNP supporters as high as 83%.
Scottish Ministers cite a number of reasons for refusing to ban snaring, including support for the shooting industry which they have consistently claimed to be worth £240 million to the Scottish economy. However, new research by Scottish Natural Heritage indicates that the entire field sports industry is worth less than that, coming in at £136 million per year – a figure that takes in the major freshwater and sea angling sectors as well as sport shooting of mammals and birds. Snaring is mainly used on grouse moors and pheasant shoots.
Speakers at the fringe meeting include George Leslie, a practising vet who was SNP candidate for Kilmarnock and Loudoun in the 2010 Westminster election. George Leslie stated:
“The UK has one of the most permissive regimes in Europe regarding the use of neck snares, wildly at odds with modern concepts of animal welfare and conservation. Any animal – wildcat, pine marten, badger, deer or even family pets – can be caught in a snare, because these traps are indiscriminate. These animals suffer and so do the foxes and rabbits that are the intended targets. As a vet, I find this simply unacceptable.”
Christine Grahame MSP, another high profile SNP opponent of snares, added:
“I am appalled that we are still allowing snares to be used in this country. I have seen far too much evidence of the horrible injuries they cause to animals and action to ban these traps is long overdue. I will certainly support an amendment to the wildlife bill to achieve a ban on snaring.”
The meeting has been organised by OneKind and the League Against Cruel Sports to highlight the opportunity to ban snares under the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill currently being considered in the Scottish Parliament. The two charities are seeking support for an amendment to the Bill that will prohibit the primitive, indiscriminate traps once and for all.
Louise Robertson of the League Against Cruel Sports said:
“The decision to regulate the use of snares rather than ban them was never going to provide a workable solution which would prevent animals suffering. Recent evidence collected by both the League and OneKind shows these regulations, as predicted, are simply not working and being ignored”.
Libby Anderson of OneKind added:
“Our new film of a fox in a snare on a shooting estate shows the frantic efforts of a trapped animal to escape the noose, illustrating beyond any doubt the mental suffering of animals caught in these dreadful traps. And as we know, snares also cause severe injuries and immense physical suffering. The compassionate people of Scotland, including the great majority of SNP members, want to see our sentient wild creatures treated better than this.”