Maintaining the humane, responsible use of snares

A briefing note from the Countryside Alliance on snares, in advance of the Westminster Hall debate on Monday 9 January.

• The use of snares is an important tool in wildlife management, which benefits conservation and a range of economic activities from shooting and agriculture to forestry and eco-tourism.

• There is often no practical and effective replacement for snaring at crucial times of the year, particularly during spring and summer.

• Well-designed snares, used properly, are a humane and effective form of fox control. They are a restraining, rather than killing, device.

• It has been illegal to use self-locking snares throughout the UK since 1981 and there is already extensive legislation in place relating to the use of free-running snares.

• Defra commissioned research, published in 2012, identified how snaring could be improved through snare design and operating practices.

• An initial Code of Practice for Snaring in England was published in 2005. Following this research, the Countryside Alliance, with other sector groups including the NFU, the Country Land and Business Association, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, called for Defra to publish or endorse a revised edition. This was accomplished as a sector initiative in 2016.

To download and read the briefing in full, please click here.

If you would be willing to support our efforts to maintain the possibility of responsible, effective wildlife management, please consider joining the Countryside Alliance today.