Wildlife

Snare Trapping Welfare and Bycatch

Snares are indiscriminate trapping devices that cause prolonged suffering to target and non-target animals and are widely used in both legal pest control and illegal poaching.

Key Facts

Snares cause injuries including strangulation, limb loss, and infection through their non-selective design
Protected species including badgers, otters, and deer are commonly caught as snare bycatch
An estimated 80% of snare catches in some UK studies involved non-target species
Scotland has moved toward banning free-running snares while England retains legal use with weak regulation

Welfare Considerations

Animals caught in snares experience hours to days of distress, pain, and struggle before being found or dying. Non-target bycatch — protected species, companion animals, and wildlife — suffer identically to intended targets. The indiscriminate nature of snares makes achieving acceptable welfare outcomes essentially impossible regardless of regulation quality.

What You Can Do

Support snare ban campaigns in your country or region
Report suspected illegal snaring to wildlife law enforcement
Advocate for pet microchipping and collar tags to reduce companion animal snare mortality
Support badger, otter, and deer protection organizations that monitor and respond to snaring
Never use snares for pest control — cage traps or other targeted methods are more humane alternatives