Senedd celebration as MSs make Wales the first UK nation to ban snares
Martin Shipton
Members of the Senedd joined animal welfare campaigners from the League Against Cruel Sports to celebrate a historic vote to ban snares in Wales.
It followed the unanimous passing of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill in the Senedd which contained measures to outlaw these cruel and indiscriminate wildlife traps.
Will Morton, head of public affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The Welsh Government deserves huge credit for banning snares, inherently inhumane traps, which are completely incompatible with high animal welfare standards.
“Wales is leading the way in protecting wildlife from cruelty and we’re calling on the UK and Scottish Governments to follow their lead and ban these brutal devices.”
The attendees included 13 members of the Senedd as well as animal welfare campaigners from across Wales.
Shooting Industry
Up to 51,000 snares lie hidden in the countryside at any one time according to UK government figures.
They are used predominantly by shooting industry gamekeepers on pheasant and partridge shoots to trap wildlife.
The same Defra research shows almost three quarters of the animals caught are not the intended target species. So, this will include hares, badgers and people’s pets.
Polling carried out by YouGov in Wales in January 2021 showed 78% of the Welsh public wanted snares to be made illegal.
The ban will come into force two months after receiving royal assent so snares should become illegal in Wales later this year.
Mr Morton added: “Today we are celebrating the move to end the cruelty inflicted on animals by the use of barbaric snares, something that will have the support of the vast majority of the Welsh people.
“It’s a fantastic move for animal welfare and we look forward to snares being banned in the rest of the UK soon.”
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Great news. Let’s continue to make Wales a cruelty-free nation.
Da iawn Senedd!
Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is fabulous! In the ‘90s, my cat had a front leg amputated after being caught in one of these traps. Those who planted it are undeserving of any good in their lives and I sincerely hope they never experience any. OH! A BIT STRONG? Well, they still owe me the vet bill and compensation for the emotional trauma not to mention the actual suffering of the animal. Faceless, worthless cowards.
An animal story that struck me on the BBC USA section on-line shows a chimp of 28 years of age being taken outside of the laboratory for the first time in its life. Its expression on seeing the sky nearly caused my heart to explode, perhaps you saw it…