Snares

SNARES:

Hundreds of wire snares are set across the national park, catching mammals indiscriminately. Gamekeepers say they are set for foxes but in reality they also catch badgers, mountain hares, sheep, dogs and even runners!

Snares are banned in all but five European countries because they cause such immense suffering. The UK needs to ban them too. Snares may be set legally (free-running) or illegally (self-locking) – both have been found in the Peak District.

Shockingly, the gamekeepers intensify snaring around nature reserves (where there is abundant wildlife) and in the spring (when females are pregnant). The gamekeepers are very strategic in how and where they place snares.

There is virtually no law enforcement on snaring – the sites do not have to be identified to the police or monitored by them, so wildlife crime usually goes unseen.

Snares are often used in conjunction with “stink bins” or “stink pits” – piles of animal carcasses, strewn as bait to lure in more predators. See our page Stink Bins & Pits for more information.

Pet cats and dogs are also at risk from traps and snares, as Molly’s Story explains.

In spring 2020, the Hunt Investigation Team filmed a Moscar gamekeeper setting snares on active badger runs near Wyming Brook Nature Reserve. They rescued the badger and published footage, which is heartbreaking.

The Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust have additional useful information and evidence from their Our Moors campaign.

HOW TO HELP:

• Monitor, monitor, monitor. Please check sites regularly, especially in the late winter and early spring, when snaring is most intense. Snares may be set on open moorland or in the small gullies/patches of woodland where the moors descend. Info on where to find snares here.
• Animals are suffering and dying daily in these cruel contraptions, often just meters from popular tourist areas. We must highlight this scandal.
• Look out for injured animals and illegally set snares. Seek immediate assistance from the RSPCA/a local vet/Moorland Monitors. If you are awaiting assistance, please try to obtain evidence: photos, videos, locations, time, date etc. If the animal has been injured, please document this. It helps us to show that snares are inhumane. Veterinary reports are also very helpful.
• Report your findings to us. Help us build up the evidence base on snares, which can be used for campaigning.
• Watch out for pet dogs off leads, and for pet cats if you live nearby. Both cats and dogs have been caught in snares.
• Ask your MP to campaign against snaring. The UK falls well behind other European countries in continuing to allow these barbaric devices. We need a change in the law: an outright ban on snaring.
• The Hunt Investigation Team have lots of useful info on identifying snare sites for monitoring. Their 2017 report from the Peak District exposed the true horror of snaring on the Moscar Estate.
• The War on Wildlife project has published several blogs on snares, including an article documenting breaches of the code of practice which is supposed to be followed by snare users.
• Keep upto date with developments in Wales set to ban snares) and Scotland (likely to follow suit). Such progress paves the way for an eventual ban in England. Participate in consultations and use your voice to protect animals from needless suffering.

Photos c/o Moorland Monitors, independent monitors and Hunt Investigation Team.