Snares

Snares are cable or wire nooses set to catch wild animals such as squirrels or rabbits. There are many campaigns in the UK at the moment to have these declared illegal but at the moment they are still allowed to be used unfortunately. Because they are cheap to produce and easy to set in large numbers they tend to get used a lot more than they should be.

The way a snare is supposed to work is to trap an animal around the neck or the body, and should be 'free-running' so that they can relax once an animal stops pulling, and then the trapper can decide whether to keep, kill or release it. However most wild animals struggle so hard against the snares which just then get tighter and so end up with horrendous injuries as the wires cut into the flesh, or death before the trapper even returns. Widely criticised, it is believed that over 40% of animals caught will not be the ‘target’ animals but many other forms of wildlife, including badgers, and also domestic pets have often been caught. Whilst snares should never be set on walkways it has been known for walkers and hikers to also get caught in them on occasions.

It is a legal requirement that snares are checked at least once in each 24 hour period, but virtually no checks are carried out on trappers to ensure that this happens.

If you every come across a badger (or any animal) trapped in a snare, please never try to cut the snare off, as if the animal is injured, this could cause sudden blood loss which would result in death. Instead, please contact the the Essex Badger Protection Group immediately on 07341 944567 or 07341 944568 who can arrange for specialist handling and care for injured badgers. For people who live in Essex another useful number is South Essex Wildlife Hospital 01375 893893.