Wales: Snares ban moves forward

After careful weighing up of the arguments from organisations that are calling for a ban on the cruel contraptions and bloodsports lobby groups that wish to continue using snares to trap and kill animals, the Committee recommended: “A clear majority of the Committee support the provisions of Part 5 of the Bill to prohibit use of snares, although there was support from two Members for the Minister to give further consideration to a highly-regulated licensing system.”

This is a very positive step, not least because the Minister has addressed the shooting industry’s attempts to relabel snares as ‘humane cable restraints’ by stating “Officials included ‘cable restraints’ in the definition as snare user groups use the term ‘humane cable restraint’ interchangeably with ‘code-compliant snare’. We need to be very clear that they are exactly the same device and they’re not different in any way.” The Committee’s report awaits a response from the Minister, and we will update you as the Bill progresses.

Below is a snippet from the Committee’s report, which cites Animal Aid’s evidence.

Says Fiona Pereira, Campaign Manager at Animal Aid:

“Animal Aid welcomes the Welsh Government’s bold commitment to banning all snares, which cause terrible suffering to more than a million animals each year, and we urge Westminster to follow its lead. We hope the Welsh government stays true to its objective to rid the countryside of these barbaric contraptions – no exemptions, no exceptions, snares are cruel and must be banned.”