Tuesday 19 February 2008
DECISION ON SNARING IN SCOTLAND TO BE ANNOUNCED IN PARLIAMENT WEDNESDAY 20TH FEBRUARY, 2.30PM
UN MESSENGER OF PEACE JANE GOODALL DBE SUPPORTS CAMPAIGN TO BAN SNARES
Snares will come under the spotlight in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday) when Michael Russell MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Environment, announces his decision on the future of these traps in Scotland. It comes almost a year after the close of an official public consultation, which revealed a majority of more than 2:1 in favour of a total ban on the use of snares in Scotland. An opinion poll1 has shown that 75% of people in Scotland think snares should be banned. Only 19% of people were aware that snares were still legal, most presuming they had already been banned.
The League Against Cruel Sports and Advocates for Animals have led a high-profile campaign in Scotland to prohibit the manufacture, sale, possession and use of all snares. Respected conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall DBE is the latest high-profile animal advocate to back the campaign, alongside Queen guitarist Brian May CBE and actresses Joanna Lumley OBE and Annette Crosbie.
In a letter to the Minister for Environment , Jane Goodall wrote2:
“I am writing to ask you to ban the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Scotland.
The practice of snaring is primitive and cruel and surely no human interest can justify the suffering which these traps inflict on animals, both wild and domesticated.”
Snares are thin wire nooses used to trap foxes and rabbits but in reality can catch any animal including protected species such as badgers, otters and mountain hares, deer and farmed animals, and even domesticated animals such as cats and dogs. The campaign to ban snares has generated a huge response from individuals whose pet cat(s) or dog(s) have suffered distress and injury or been killed in a snare3.
A supporter gave the following heart-breaking account of how she lost her beloved cat, Tigger, to a deadly snare:
“A few years ago my cat Tigger went missing for nearly a week and despite desperate attempts to find her she did not return. On the 7th day, a Sunday morning, one of my neighbours phoned to say that she thought that my cat was caught in her fence. I ran along and sure enough it was Tigger, hanging upside down, caught by her hind quarters. We were unable to see how she was caught but my neighbour's husband got some wire cutters and managed to free her. From her hips back, her body was rock hard she made no attempt to move, only this heart rending meeow that was hardly audible. I immediately telephoned the vet who arranged to meet me in his surgery. He laid Tigger on his table and after a few minutes sunk his finger through her fur and using some cutters snipped the wire that was constricting her. At that moment, Tigger died. Tigger had been caught up in the snare for days and as it was at the bottom of the garden inside a hedge, nobody had heard her cries for help."
The UK is one of a minority of European Member States that still allow snares to be used. If Scotland does not lead the way for the rest of the UK it risks getting left behind on this important animal welfare issue.
Scotland Campaigner for the League Against Cruel Sports, Louise Robertson, said: “I hope the Minister has listened to what the majority of Scots want and will take the opportunity to eradicate these vicious traps once and for all from this country. The only way to stop animals suffering needlessly in snares is to ban their use completely, nothing short of a ban will do”.
Advocates for Animals’ Political Director, Libby Anderson, added: “It is crucial that public opinion prevails today and the Government makes the right decision and bans the use of snares in Scotland. Tightening of regulations or introducing a licensing system is not going to address animal suffering, or stop the accidental capture of protected species and people’s pets, which is inevitable with these indiscriminate traps. Scotland must lead the way for the rest of the UK on this important animal welfare issue”.
The campaign for a ban on the manufacture, possession and use of snares is supported by the Hare Preservation Trust, Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Trust, International Otter Survival Fund and Scottish Badgers and sponsored by the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust. A ban on all snares is also supported by the Scottish SPCA.
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
For further information contact:
League Against Cruel Sports: Louise Robertson, Scotland Campaigner - Tel: 01383 873461, Mob: 07980 232287.
Advocates for Animals: Libby Anderson, Political Director – Tel: 0131 225 6039, Mob: 07967 839137.
Louise Robertson and Libby Anderson will both be available for interview at the Scottish Parliament following the Minister’s announcement.
www.bansnares.com
1 CommunicateResearch interviewed 1036 Scottish adults 18+ in February 2007 for the League Against Cruel Sports. The questions asked were as follows:
1. Is it legal or illegal to use snares to trap wild animals?
2. It is in fact legal. Do you think they should be banned in Scotland?
CommunicateResearch found that 19 per cent answered ‘legal’ to question one and 75 per cent supported a ban in question two.
2 In a letter to the Minister for Environment , Jane Goodall wrote:
“I am writing to ask you to ban the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Scotland.
The practice of snaring is primitive and cruel and surely no human interest can justify the suffering which these traps inflict on animals, both wild and domesticated. Pet cats and dogs can be caught and killed by snares. No civilised country should tolerate the capture of protected species, farmed animals and pets in these indiscriminate devices.
This is an issue which the Scottish public feels very strongly about and the vast majority, an overwhelming 75 per cent according to a recent poll, want snares to be made illegal. The continued use of snares has serious implications for animal welfare. Nothing other than a complete ban on all snares will end this unnecessary suffering.
It is to our shame that the UK is one of a minority of European Member States that still allow snares to be used.
The Scottish Government must act now to prevent needless animal suffering. Scotland is in a unique situation where it can lead the way for the rest of the UK and I urge you to ban snares and stamp out the horrors of snaring once and for all.”
3 For further case studies of pets caught in snares visit http://www.bansnares.com/experience.php or contact one of the press contacts above if you would like to speak to an individual whose pet was injured or killed in a snare.
Snares are a primitive means of ‘pest’ control used on some farms and sporting estates in Scotland. Consisting of a thin wire noose, they are both cruel and indiscriminate traps. They are set to catch so-called pests such as foxes and rabbits but in reality any animal is at risk from getting caught in a snare, including protected animals such as badgers, otters and mountain hares, other wild animals such as deer, farmed animals such as sheep, and domestic cats and dogs. Although designed to immobilise their targets, snares can inflict horrendous injury and in many cases cause a painful and lingering death.
Tens or hundreds of thousands of animals will be caught in snares in Scotland each year. Exact figures are unknown as there is no requirement to keep records. Enforcement of the existing law is extremely difficult if not impossible due to the widespread use of snares in remote areas.