One of the world’s longest established animal rights groups, Animal Aid, have launched a campaign against snares. 

Snares are a type of trap designed to catch animals around the leg or neck and keep them in place until they are ‘dispatched’ by the trapper. While snares are intended to catch animals such as foxes and rabbits, they frequently also capture other species, like cats and dogs, causing severe injuries and even death. Animal Aid are joining groups such as the RSPCA in publicly condemning the use of snares. 

Snares (wire noose-like traps) are not only legal in Britain, but they are also still widely used. These traps are used in the countryside by gamekeepers, who are raising birds to later be killed for sport – and by farmers to ‘protect their crops’. Snares have also been found in allotments and other urban settings.

Sadly, many cat and dog owners only become aware of snares following a tragedy, when their beloved animal falls victim to these cruel, indiscriminate traps.

A quick internet search reveals numerous stories about cats who have gone missing, only to be found days later with injuries caused by a snare. There are also many reports of people whose dogs have become entangled in snares. Tragically, some animals never manage to escape. Naturally, many animals panic when caught in these wire traps – as they struggle the snare cuts into their flesh, causing terrible injuries, sometimes leading to a slow and lingering death.

A code of practice currently was introduced after Parliament supported a full ban on snares in 2016, but groups such as the Hunt Investigation Team, OneKind and the National Anti-Snaring Campaign have recorded and reported numerous violations of this code.  

Animal Aid’s notable campaigns include the introduction of CCTV into slaughterhouses, and their campaign to stop the routine slaughter of horses in the UK.

Animal Aid are calling on supporters to sign the petition to #BanSnares 

Says Jade Emery, wildlife campaigner for Animal Aid: 

“Snares are undeniably barbaric traps, that can cause serious injuries and death to wildlife and domestic animals. Many stories have been covered by local newspapers of both wildlife and cats and dogs tragically getting caught in snares, and sometimes dying of their injuries. It is irrefutable that snares can cause immense stress and suffering to animals.

“Investigations by groups such as HIT (Hunt Investigation Team) clearly demonstrate that the current code of practice does not go far enough to protect animals, and a ban must be secured.”