Horror of Snares

A fox snare in South Yorkshire kills a badgers

A free running snare was set near a badger sett entrance at Hood Green, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It caught this female badger and cut her abdomen open, killing her. The cub was also found dead. The free-running snare that trapped and killed her is also shown.

In Scotland, a female badger was almost cut in two by a snare – but was still alive when found by a doctor. When the doctor touched the badger, its heart fell out, still beating, before it died.

An Independent Working Group on Snares, reporting to DEFRA in 2005, identified a long list of harm caused to animals caught in snares. Adverse impacts included:

  • the stress of restraint, which could include frustration, anxiety and rage
  • fear of predation or capture whilst held by the snare
  • friction, penetration and self-inflicted skin injuries whilst struggling against or fighting the tether
  • pain, thirst, hunger and exposure when restrained for long periods
  • pain, injury and reduced ability to survive that could persist following escape
  • stress of capture and handling before despatch by the snare operator
  • pain and injury associated with killing by the snare operator if unconsciousness is not immediate.