Snares set for bushmeat hunting cause devastating injuries to wild primates, with rescue and rehabilitation programs offering critical lifelines to individual animals caught in these indiscriminate traps.
Snare injuries represent some of the most acute and preventable welfare harms experienced by wild primates. Animals caught in wire snares may struggle for hours or days, sustaining crushing injuries that cut through flesh and bone. Those that escape carry embedded wire that causes progressive infection, often resulting in amputation or death without veterinary intervention. Rescue operations require skilled field teams, specialized veterinary care and long-term rehabilitation facilities capable of supporting complex social reintegration. Beyond rescue, addressing the drivers of snaring — poverty, food insecurity and inadequate wildlife law enforcement — is essential to reducing the pipeline of injured animals requiring care.