The Hunt Saboteurs Association is delighted to host this guest article from our good friends at Animal Aid.
Animal Aid’s campaign to ban snares came about in an unusual – but very welcome – way, in that we were contacted by grassroots groups and individuals on the ground. They’d seen our decades-long campaign against shooting and asked if we’d help with the political side of an anti-snares campaign.
We felt that if there was any way in which we could help the fantastic work already being done by the National Anti-Snaring Campaign, OneKind, HIT and the HSA (to name but a few), then we would be honoured to do whatever we could.
Since then, we’ve worked closely with sabs, investigators, other groups and organisations, companies and those in the public eye in a bid to ban snares. From the off, it was a pleasant surprise to see just how much support this issue has and what a great example it is of what can be done when lots of groups and individuals work together and lend their expertise.
One of the first things we did was to send Freedom of Information requests to all police forces to get a better understanding of how easy it was for people to report snared animals to the police and to assess the outcome of any reports. The response was, predictably, poor – there simply isn’t a way in which crimes against wildlife can be recorded properly by the police, let alone acted upon. Instead, it falls to voluntary reporting systems, such as OneKind’s Snare Watch website, as well as monitoring local press for any news stories about snares.
Most people simply didn’t believe that snares were still being used, and yet, conversely, there is huge public opposition to them, as reflected by polling conducted by the League Against Cruel Sports, which showed that 71% of people want to see snares banned.
Animal Aid was lucky enough to have the support of LUSH: they gave greater publicity to the issue by donating window space in their high street stores to promote the anti-snares message. We even used one of their central London stores to promote the campaign, featuring dancers dressed up as foxes and badgers. In addition, we coordinated an open letter to the press calling on the PM and Defra to ban snares, which was signed by many campaigning groups and rescue organisations.
On the political side, we were desperate to get a parliamentary debate. In May 2021, we launched a government petition calling for a ban on snares and very nearly hit the 100,000 signatures required – but not quite. Undeterred, we had another run at it, relaunching the petition in December. With Chris Packham, Peter Egan and Deborah Meaden promoting the petition – and with huge amounts of help from other groups, grassroots activists, rescue organisations and public figures (you all know who you are!!!) – we hit the target of 100,000 signatures with a whole month to spare. Bingo!
As we waited for the date of our parliamentary debate, the National Anti-Snaring Campaign launched a brand-new report, written by Professor Stephen Harris, comprising a major review of all the available data ever produced on snaring. The report concluded that the only way to address the many issues and cruelties caused by snares is to prohibit their use entirely. Harris stated, “All the available data show that the only way to stop extremely high levels of non-target capture, illegal use and misuse of snares, address animal welfare concerns, and recognise that wild animals are sentient beings, is to prohibit the manufacture, sale, possession and use of snares in the UK.” This new report became absolutely central to all the briefings we sent to MPs ahead of the debate.
Around the same time, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) shared its position on the use of snares, stating that “Snares significantly compromise the welfare of caught animals, in some cases over a considerable length of time. Some animals die in the snare whilst others may be killed by methods that also compromise welfare. Snares may also capture ‘non-target’ species, including domestic animals and protected wildlife, for which their use is not intended, resulting in death or significant injury to these animals.” The BVA’s demand for a total ban on the use and sale of snares showed that evidence was mounting, as was the opposition.
After a long, frustrating wait, in January 2023, we finally got a date for our parliamentary debate – it was now all hands on deck! We contacted MPs asking them to attend the debate; we sent briefings ahead of time; and we mobilised our supporter database, asking them to contact their MP and urge them to speak out against snares. One memorable moment, for me, was when Ruth Jones MP faced the Conservative government, and told them that if they didn’t ban snares, she’d make sure it was at the top of Labour’s to-do list!
Elsewhere, progress was being made. In Wales, under the excellent guidance of then Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths, the snares ban was voted through in June 2023. This surely encouraged the Scottish Government which, under the initial steer of Gillian Martin MSP (replaced at the last minute by Jim Fairlie MSP), took the advice of their Scottish Animal Welfare Committee (SAWC) and banned snares in Scotland in March 2024. SAWC’s report to the Minister couldn’t have been clearer: “… the use of snares in the lethal control of terrestrial mammals raises significant welfare concerns. Non-target species caught in snares will also suffer and may die, often very slowly. Neonates and juveniles may starve to death, if traps catch an adult on which they are dependent within their breeding season. SAWC concludes that snares cause significant welfare harms to members of both target and non-target species.”
Which brings us to today – under a Labour government. While we are still waiting for a snare ban in England, we are hopeful that it will happen soon. Earlier this year, we launched an Early Day Motion for MPs to sign, keeping the issue on the political agenda whilst we wait for Defra to confirm their expected timeframe for a ban. At the time of writing, the government’s commitment remains as follows: “As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps in England.” – and we very much plan to hold them to account about this!
And so, it just remains for me, and everyone who works at Animal Aid, to thank all of you who work tirelessly to save animals’ lives.
Fiona Pereira (animalaid.org.uk)
We are the only organisation that works directly in the field to save wildlife through direct action.
