The Hunt Saboteurs Association has long campaigned against all forms of animal cruelty and taken direct action to stop showpiece events such as the start of the grouse shooting season on 12th August. As the Labour government plans a public consultation and new legislation to strengthen the Hunting Act there are also initiatives to improve animal welfare more generally with an announcement expected later this month.
High on the agenda here, as debated at the last Labour conference, is a ban on snare traps which would bring England into line with Wales and Scotland.
Snares are vile, barbaric traps but they are just one part of the cruelty and environmental destruction caused by the gamebird industry. In our video we shine a light on the dark secrets of shooting and start with a demonstration of snaring at the location where the trap above was discovered.
Whether it’s grouse or pheasant shooting, animals or birds that might harm precious gamebirds are trapped, shot or poisoned and then dumped together to lure foxes in particular. All scavengers are attracted by these stink pits of death so gamekeepers ensure these carcasses are surrounded by snares causing yet more killing.
And even when these trapping areas are filled with maggot-infested corpses, police and environmental agencies look the other way. And that’s because the shooting industry is run and supported by rich, influential, aristocratic and even royal patrons who have shaped lawmakers and law enforcers for as long as we can remember.
Shooting needs to be brought down: banning snares in England would be a very good start.
Support our vital work by becoming a member.
We are the only organisation that works directly in the field to save wildlife through direct action.
