Fox snares

[salukiwhippet]

Originally Posted by wildliferescuer

Hmmmm. Strange then that in 25 years of dealing with injured wild animals, I have only seen a couple of self-locking snares. Most of the horrendous snare injuries we have seen have been from supposed humane, free-running snares!

I said "badly set or illegal", a badly set free running snare can cause injury too, as I said in my OP. I assume that you don't see the snares in position before they catch, and therefore don't know how they were set.

If you don't mind me asking, how many snare injuries do you see in an average year? And what's the breakdown of fox/badger/other?

James

[wildliferescuer]

Originally Posted by salukiwhippet

I said "badly set or illegal", a badly set free running snare can cause injury too, as I said in my OP. I assume that you don't see the snares in position before they catch, and therefore don't know how they were set.

If you don't mind me asking, how many snare injuries do you see in an average year? And what's the breakdown of fox/badger/other?

James

No of course we don't see them before the animal is caught, but we do know the difference between self-locking & free-running snares. I am sure that the ones that we see were set according to the law & in the correct manner but by the time the animal has struggled violently trying to free itself (& yes, they do!) & the fur has become entangled in the snare (which itself then turns a free-running snare into a self-locking one!), the end result is exactly the same as an illegal one.

Admittedly, if an animal was dealt with within a short space of time major injury probably wouldn't occur but most of the animals we treat have very obviously been in the snare for many, many hours & sometimes days, which is illegal in itself.
However, as these cases are not an isolated few, & the law regarding snares & the regular checking of them cannot be policed, surely this makes the whole practice inhumane as it causes the suffering of many, many animals.

We have facts & figures for all the animals that have been admitted to Vale over the years & at some point I will be happy to extract the information you are interested in, but it will have to be in the autumn or winter as this time of year is absolutely manic, as you can probably imagine.

We are also trying to organise our 25th Anniversary Open Day which is taking place next Sunday (7th June) to try to raise the necessary funds to treat all these injuries!
As it seems you are fairly local, maybe you should come along & support us James?!?!?!

[salukiwhippet]

I have a feeling that we are going to reach (or indeed already have reached!) a stalemate on this one Caroline.
Snares correctly set and checked are a viable management tool. When abused (as with so many things - airguns, stanley knives, bull terriers, cars) they can cause a lot of damage and suffering.

I would be interested in coming along and seeing some of the work you do actually, details please! I might even introduce myself if I'm feeling brave!

James

[wildliferescuer]

Yes, we will agree to disagree once again. Will shake hands on 7th!
I don't bite, despite my reputation (I have mellowed with age!), so please make yourself known on Open Day if you can make it.
Station Road, Beckford (just off the A46, between Tewkesbury & Evesham), 11am-4pm.

[Les E]

HI There,
Snares......no ifs no buts BAN EM. I live on a estate which had a particularly nasty gamekeeper a few years ago who set snares as well as Larson Traps.I had no compulsion to 'break the law' and remove snares as this drunken oaf broke the law himself by leaving the snares victims to rot in them.I found my neighbours cat snared and strangled to death so dont anyone try to tell me these barbaric traps should not be banned.There is one bit of hope howevever ,a new shooting syndicate which seems to be of the younger and more enlightened generation has arrived who dont set snares so maybe attitudes might be changing.
Regards Les.

[wildliferescuer]

Well said, totally agree, ban all snares.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Les E

HI There,
Snares......no ifs no buts BAN EM. I live on a estate which had a particularly nasty gamekeeper a few years ago who set snares as well as Larson Traps.I had no compulsion to 'break the law' and remove snares as this drunken oaf broke the law himself by leaving the snares victims to rot in them.I found my neighbours cat snared and strangled to death so dont anyone try to tell me these barbaric traps should not be banned.There is one bit of hope howevever ,a new shooting syndicate which seems to be of the younger and more enlightened generation has arrived who dont set snares so maybe attitudes might be changing.
Regards Les.

so because one drunken oaf broke the law and caused suffering by using his snare line wrongly and illegally everyone should be stopped from using them , even those who use them in a well set and frequently checked manner ?

so presumably by the same token we are going to ban the motor vehicle because the drunken oaf frequently cause death (animal or human) by dangerous driving

and ever sharp edged implement because idiots use them to harm animals

etc etc etc

I once caught 2 yobbos feeding paracetemol to swans so by your logic banning the sale of pain killers would be the way to go ?

in your case surely rather than vandalising the snare line a more appropriate measure would have been to get the rspca investigations / police WLO involved and get the said drunken oaf prosecuted which would also result in his sacking and inability to get another keepering job.

Also as regards banning snares - how exactly will this help ? those who set them legally and responsibly (wildlife trusts etc included) will be barred from doing so or criminalised if they continue - while those who set them in an irresponsible manner (who are already breaking the law) will continue to do so, as its not like banning hand guns , you cant stop the procument of the item itself as it can be made in a matter of seconds by anyone with a length of picture wire and a pair of pliers

[salukiwhippet]

Exactly Eeyore - the only people who will suffer if snares are banned will be the law-abiding folk, those who already break the law will continue to do so.

James

[Dogs]

Ive got to have my say on this topic as I feel fully qualified to do so having worked on both sides of the fence so to speak, and still do.

I wholehartedly agree with all of eeyore's posts on this subject, but also understand the feelings of wildliferescuer, who has seen the dark side of snaring.

However, like has been said, a ban on snaring would not stop the illegal snarers from carrying on, it would only stop those who were carrying out their snaring within the law, and these are the cases that never make it to the wildlife centres or the media, as there is never any cruelty or suffering involved.

Its a fact, that a snared animal wont struggle for long, and also fact, that a properly set snare would not allow injury to occur, no matter how much the animal did initially jump about.

The cases that reach the headlines and the websites, and the unfortunate animals that get taken into the rescue centres, are the results of illegal snaring activities, and these are always either cases of bad snare placement/location, or neglect of set snares.

The only ways I can think of to help minimise damage is firstly to help prosecute those who have been found to be breaking the laws regarding snaring(please, before ringing police, make 100% sure you have a certain case of illegal snareing)
And secondly, a mandatory course with certificate for all snarers to attend and achieve.