Snaring regulations "fall short of necessary total ban"

Friday, 22 January 2010 15:51

The Scottish Government Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, has today (22 January 2010) announced new regulations to improve snaring practice. 

Published nearly two years after the previous Minister, Michael Russell MSP, controversially decided not to ban snares, the regulations include:

• an obligation on the operators of snares to check daily that the action remains free-running
• a requirement that all snares must be fitted with ‘stops’ which restrict how far the snare can tighten
• a requirement that all snares must be staked to the ground or attached to an object so that an animal cannot drag it
• a prohibition on the setting of snares in places where caught animals are likely to become fully or partially suspended or drown.

Of other proposals originally announced by the Government in 2008, a provision for the compulsory fitting of identification tags on snares has been postponed for inclusion in the forthcoming Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill.  A provision that snared areas must be clearly marked with signs appears to have been dropped. A recommendation that snares not be set near objects or vegetation which could lead to them becoming twisted and tangled has not been included.  Nor has a recommendation that a record of the exact locations of snares must be kept and produced on request by the police or other authorised agency.
Libby Anderson, Policy Director for Advocates for Animals, said:

“There can be no doubt that these regulations fall short of the necessary total ban.  Whilst they offer some progress towards reducing animal suffering, the only way to ensure the protection of thousands of animals that suffer each year in snares is a complete ban on these cruel and indiscriminate traps.”

Each year thousands of animals, including pet cats and dogs, as well as protected species, such as badgers and mountain hares, are caught in snares.  Snares are used by some shooting estates and farmers, with the aim of trapping animals they describe as pests, such as rabbits, hares and foxes.

However, many organisations responsible for land and wildlife management, such as the Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Trust for Scotland, manage hundreds of thousands of hectares of land without using snares.  Furthermore, the use of snares flies in the face of public and professional opinion, with 79% of people in Scotland and 75% of vets in Scotland opposed to their use.