Completed petition A Ban on the Manufacture, Sale and Use of Snares in Wales

Snares are thin wire nooses designed to trap ‘predator’ species. The nature of their design means that – despite supposedly being used as a restraining device – they cause severe injuries to those animals they catch. These injuries include limb amputation, strangulation and often death.

According to Defra, up to two thirds of those animals caught are not even the target species. Most frequently snares are set to catch foxes, but in reality, they catch badgers, deer, and domestic pets. In Wales, some 370,000 animals are snared every year. That’s more than 1,000 a day.

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 Welsh Assembly has the power to end this practice, and lead the way for animal welfare in the UK by banning the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Wales.