The public need to know about the cruelty of snaring animals, and we need to lobby our MPs to get these vile animal traps outlawed across the UK. What exactly are snares? Snares are wire nooses used to trap animals. There are two types in use in the UK. 1. Self-locking snares 2. Free running snares The former are illegal, but they are still often used to trap what gamekeepers and farmers regard as trash animals. Free running snares are legal in this country, but they can become self-locking if they are not set up correctly. There is also a ‘dual’ snare, used to catch foxes. It is made by AB Country Products. Their original design was self-locking, but it has been modified to comply with UK Wildlife and Countryside Act . However, as with other types of animal cruelty, many people disregard the law and thousands of the old style snares are still in use. Take a look at the Antisnaring.org website to get some idea of the types of snares and what type of animals they are designed to catch. You will be horrified and appalled at the suffering and the callous indifference of those who set up snares to catch innocent animals. The website advises to take pictures of any snares you may come across and to immediately inform the RSPCA. It is worrying that their advice is NOT to contact the police in the first instance, because many wildlife crime officers and others in the police are heavily into blood sports themselves. In 2005 DEFRA commissioned a report into the injuries and the suffering caused to animals caught in snares. Apart from the obvious stress of being held captive, and the accompanying fear of the trap, animals sustained deep soft tissue injury which caused prolonged suffering and death. Sometimes the animals were almost cut in half, others were strangled or they starved to death or were predated. Some animals chewed through limbs to escape only to bleed to death once they were free. See more at: http://www.antisnaring.org.uk/snares/horror-of-snares#sthash.Nrc2LFrh.dpuf Snare Laws in England and Wales ‘The use of snares in Britain is regulated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under the Act it is an offence for a person: to set a self-locking snare in such a way as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal. (Section 11(1)(a).) to kill or take any wild animal using a self-locking snare. (Section 11(1)(b).) to set a snare (or other article) in such a way as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any animal listed in Schedule 6 of the Act (e.g., a badger). (Section 11(2)(a).) to kill or take any animal listed in Schedule 6 of the Act (e.g., a badger) using a snare. (Section 11(2)(b).) who sets a snare to fail to inspect that snare (or have someone else inspect it) at least once every day. (Section 11(3)(b).) to set any type of snare unless they are an 'authorised person' under the Act (that is, the owner or occupier of the land on which the snare is set, any person authorised by the owner or occupier of the land, or a person authorised in writing by the Local Authority for the area. (Section 27(1).) to possess a snare for the purpose of committing any of the above offences. (Section 18(2).) Under the Deer Act 1991 it is an offence to use snares to kill or take deer. To sum up, the use of self-locking snares, the setting of any type of snare in places where they are likely to catch badgers, failure to inspect snares on a daily basis, and setting snares on land without permission, are all offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. In addition there is a DEFRA Code of Practice on the use of snares in fox and rabbit control. However this is not a statutory code and as such serves no useful purpose. ‘ DEFRAs Code of Practice ‘Legal obligations for snare users in England and Wales Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to set in position any trap or snare calculated (intended) to cause bodily injury to any wild animal included in Schedule 6 of that Act which comes into contact with it, or to use a trap or snare for the purpose of killing such a wild animal; relevant species listed in Schedule 6 include badger, polecat, otter, red squirrel, hedgehog and pine marten. Snaring of protected species is not permitted unless the person has been authorised by a specific licence under section 16 of the Act. The Deer Act 1991 makes it an offence to set in position any trap or snare calculated to cause bodily injury to any deer coming in contact with it, or to use any trap or snare for the purpose of killing or taking any deer. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 the use of a ‘self-locking’ snare is unlawful; only free-running snares can lawfully be set. The term self-locking is not defined in the Act and there has been no successful prosecution within a court high enough to clarify the law by legal precedent. A free-running snare is a wire loop that relaxes when the animal stops pulling, whilst a self-locking snare is a wire loop that continues to tighten by a ratchet action as the animal struggles. However, as there is no clear legal definition of either term, whether a snare is self-locking essentially becomes a question of fact. There are snares that could act as either free-running or self-locking depending upon how they are set and a free-running snare may in practice act as a self-locking snare if, for example, it becomes rusty or is twisted and kinked by the movements of the trapped animal.’ All very well and good, but let us not forget there are some callous and cruel people in the UK. There are many who don’t follow the rules because they hate the wild animals with whom they have to share the countryside. The testimony to this can be found in the many vile FaceBook pages which glorify the killing of rabbits, foxes and badgers etc. These people actually brag about the pain and suffering they cause and the actually post pictures of the mutilated animals they have killed. Animal ‘welfare’ is not high on their agenda and it is unlikely that they have even heard of DEFRAs rules never mind trying to follow them. The League Against Cruel Sports has just had a Snare awareness month. They have published a Snaring Manifesto. The document, which is the result of years of painstaking research, shows that the voluntary codes of practice are simply not enough to ensure that animal suffering in snares is kept to a minimum. Take a look at the Leagues report, but be aware there are some upsetting images and descriptions included in the document. ** Warning** It is not just wild animals that are tortured in snares. Cats and dogs are also victim. They often lose limbs and often die terrified and alone while their frantic owners put up lost posters and search in vain for a beloved pet. In reality, it doesn’t matter whether the animal is domesticated or wild, they all suffer in snares. We are supposed to be a nation who loves our animals. It’s time we lived up to this view. Please write to your MP and tell him/her in no uncertain terms that animal lives matter and ALL snares must be outlawed as soon as maybe. Related reading: Snaring manifesto
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