Wales urged to take the lead on a snare ban as 1000 animals per day are trapped, maimed or killed in lethal wire nooses

Animal welfare charity calls for Welsh public to sign new snare ban Petition –

As the national press reveals yet another beloved pet suffering horrific injuries from a snare in Wales, animal welfare organisation League Against Cruel Sports is urging the public to sign a petition on the National Assembly for Wales’s website calling for these lethal nooses to be outlawed.

More than one thousand pets and wild animals in Wales are caught every day in snares – thin wire nooses designed to trap predators.  Although they are supposed to be used purely as a restraining device, snares can cause severe injuries including limb amputation, strangulation and often death.

Snares are set mainly by game-keepers on shooting estates to stop animals – usually foxes – catching the game-birds which are bred only so they can be shot down later by paying shooting parties.

But according to the UK government, up to two thirds of the animals caught in snares are not even the target species.  Those trapped include badgers, deer, domestic pets and even otters.

Rhiannon Evans, Senior Public Affairs Officer for League Against Cruel Sports Wales said:  “Snares don’t discriminate.  They cause horrible injuries and even death to all kinds of wildlife as well as family cats and dogs.

“Around 370,000 animals in Wales are snared every year – that’s more than 1000 animals a day that are trapped, maimed or die a slow death.

“Independent research shows that 80% of people across Wales believe snaring should be illegal and our Assembly Members have the power to make this happen.

“We urge the public to help end this horrific cruelty by signing the petition.  It’s time for Wales to lead the rest of the UK with a complete ban on snares in Wales.”

In 2015, the Welsh Government introduced a Code of Best Practice on the use of snares, but compliance with the Code is voluntary and there are no checks in place or penalties for those who do not comply.  Even a Code-compliant snare is a crude, indiscriminate device, more likely to cause injury or death than to restrain an animal.

The petition will be handed in to the Assembly on Tuesday 20th September 2016.