23 June 2023 , 14:00
1115
0
“Barbaric" snares which trap wild animals will be banned in Wales - piling pressure on the rest of Britain to outlaw the devices.
Calls are growing for a UK-wide block on the cruel traps as the Wales Agriculture Bill moves to its final stage of Senedd scrutiny on Tuesday.
It means Cardiff Bay will become the first part of the UK to scrap the devices designed to catch foxes and other predators but which also harm badgers, rabbits, lambs and even cats and dogs which stray into the countryside.
Animal Aid director Iain Green said: “To the majority of people who love and cherish our wildlife, the use of these archaic, barbaric implements to trap and kill animals is appallingly cruel and needs to end – and we are delighted the Welsh Government has listened to the people and taken decisive action to protect our wildlife.
“Snares, which are essentially a loop made of wire, are used by gamekeepers to trap animals by the neck, before killing them in order to ‘protect’ pheasants and partridges – that is, until the start of the shooting season when they too will be killed for ‘sport’.”
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
He said animals caught in snares “face hour upon hour of pain and panic, with a wire loop digging into their flesh as they struggle in vain to escape”.
Animal Aid director Iain Green (Animal Aid)He added: “Snares are inhumane and inexcusable, and there should be no place for them in today’s society.
“We hope that the Scottish Government and Westminster will follow the compassionate lead of the Welsh Government.”
Last year, MPs held a parliamentary debate on banning snares after an online petition was signed more than 100,000 times.
TV presenter and wildlife campaigner Chris Packham told the Mirror at the time: “These Stone Age contraptions really have no place in today’s Britain.
“They are cruel and barbaric, trapping something like 1.7 million animals every year and, in the process, causing horrendous suffering to wildlife and domestic animals too.”
Wildlife campaigner Chris Packham (PA)The first-ever “made-in-Wales” Agriculture Bill has its “stage four” Senedd scrutiny next week.
Members are expected to back the legislation before it receives Royal Assent from the King - becoming law in Wales.
Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths told the Mirror snares “are inherently indiscriminate”.
“Our programme for government includes a commitment to ban the use of snares as a means of trapping and capturing wild animals,” she said.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'
Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths“They are not compatible with the high animal welfare standards we strive for here in Wales and can cause a great deal of suffering, severe injury and even kill.
“Should the Bill be passed and receive Royal Assent, the use of snares in Wales would be completely banned.”
Hailing a “fantastic move”, League Against Cruel Sports public affairs chief Will Morton said: “The ban now sets the bar for the rest of the UK to meet, and we look forward to the UK and Scottish governments taking steps to ban these brutal devices which cause so much suffering.
“Our polling shows that a ban on snares in the UK will have the support of nearly three quarters of the public.”
* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook