Press release from leading Scottish animal welfare charity OneKind:
Animal welfare charity calls for an end to driven grouse shooting and snaring ban on the Glorious Twelfth
Leading Scottish animal welfare campaigns charity OneKind is calling for an end to driven grouse shooting on the first day of the shooting season. It comes as the charity plans to demonstrate outside the Scottish Parliament (17th September 2022), calling for a ban on the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Scotland.
A significant portion of Scotland’s land is managed for driven grouse shooting. To maximise red grouse numbers and the profit from those who shoot them for fun, gamekeepers routinely kill thousands of wild animals who are seen as a threat to grouse. The methods of killing are cruel and can inflict prolonged suffering upon the animals. Companion and farmed animals may also be injured or killed accidentally.
While the Scottish Government has committed to licensing grouse moors, only a ban on driven grouse shooting will ensure an end to the widespread suffering of animals.
OneKind Director, Bob Elliot said:
“There is nothing celebratory about the Glorious Twelfth. What could possibly be considered glorious about a day which marks the start of the shooting of grouse for ‘fun’ and the killing of other wild animals to maximise profit for the ‘sport’?
“Today is the culmination of the year-long killing of our wildlife on grouse moors. All year predators of red grouse have been subjected to physical and mental suffering whilst caught in traps and snares, before being killed by gamekeepers. The animals persecuted include foxes, stoats, and corvids, such as crows. All this killing takes place in the lead up to the Glorious Twelfth just to ensure there are as many red grouse as possible for the shooting season beginning today.
“Traps and snares are indiscriminate. Companion animals such as cats and dogs, farmed animals, and non-target wild animals such as badgers, are also sometimes injured or killed by these cruel and antiquated traps. There is little regulation so gamekeepers can kill many animals without justification or scrutiny.”
On OneKind’s upcoming snare demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament, Bob stated:
“The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the impacts of snaring. This is an opportune time for us to send a strong message to them that the public wants a full snaring ban. Indeed, 76% of Scots wish to see a ban on the use and sale of snares in Scotland.
“On Saturday the 17th of September we will demonstrate outside the Scottish Parliament, alongside our supporters, calling on the Scottish Government to make history and ban snares. We are also delighted to have celebrity support for our demonstration, including from Scottish actor Alan Cumming, Naturalist Chris Packham and Actor Peter Egan.
“The message is clear. Scottish Government, it is time to consign snares to the history books.”
ENDS
Raptor Persecution UK 
The thing is about snares – if you had given the keepers of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s the high-tech night vision & rifle kit combined with excellent ATV’s, quads, etc & extensive estate roads infrastructure that they have today – but on one fixed condition – they binned ALL snares, they would have jumped at it! But now that they have this SAS style equipment for past 15+ years which means that in competent hands foxes can be killed humanely (a relative term to many, I accept that) in a time/cost effective way – why on earth do they insist on carrying on with the prehistoric barbarism of snares? It’s almost as if they want to ring fence more time to devote to other predator killing tasks…
All hunting should be banned, so many animals and birds of prey are killed to stop them eating grouse, which I might add is a natural instinct, animals and birds need to eat, so if gamekeepers are releasing loads of prey they should expect to loose some to wildlife, it is a part of life.
Hunting is barbarian, with little scrutiny from any party involved with the protection of endangered and protected species.
And with any laws in place flagrantly ignored by most, the use of snares, and traps are inhumane, and should carry a prison sentence for anyone found using one, or owning one, they have only one purpose and that is to cause a slow and painful death.
Most people brandishing a gun don’t distinguish between a bird of prey or a grouse, and will just shoot anything that moves, many of our rare birds have been murdered in the name of sport, or fun, it is disgusting that in current times of awareness of the plight of such endangered creatures these morons still kill them without a care.
All hunting should be banned, and that is it, there is absolutely no need to raise and release grouse just so rich folk can go shoot them, and anything else that shows up, and for landowners, and gamekeepers to keep persecuting natural hunters, who hunt to eat, not for fun, or in the name of a sport is just wrong.
The land owners should be held responsible for any death of any animal, or bird on the land, and should be prosecuted for killing any protected bird or animal, even if as they always say “it was not me”, after all the land is their responsibility, as well as anyone who uses the land, they either condone the killings, or are choosing to ignore it.
Then there is the argument that many mps are linked to these murdering grounds, and will do what they can to hide killings, or brush them under the rug, recently the Derbyshire police suddenly ended a criminal investigation after an mp stepped in, all of a sudden the case was closed, even with evidence to prove wrongdoing, the mp made it go away.
This is another issue that should be dealt with, perhaps if they have links to these hunting grounds they should be removed from parliament, or held accountable along with the land owners and gamekeepers.
If all incidents linked to, or associated with hunting grounds resulted in criminal charges, and prison time I am absolutely convinced that there would be no more snares, traps, or killing of protected birds and animals.
But as it is the person who kills has to be identified and without doubt of guilt before anything can be done.
If the responsibility was entirely on the shoulders of the land owners and gamekeepers, and all who use the land it would certainly change things.
But knowing how far these people will go to cover up and hide the truth I suspect it would become very hard to detect crimes, and I also suspect they will be slippery enough to get off scot free, especially with the help of the mps .
I do not think there are any grouse killing moors who actively make sure birds of prey, or other wildlife is safe from harm.
DRIVEN SLAUGHTER, MEDIEVAL ACT FOR NO MODERN DAY PURPOSE, BARBARIC.
Well done One Kind, if I was near Scotland on the day I would be very happy to join you. Incidentally, my understanding of the Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Act is that snares and traps cannot be used in the vicinity of protected wildlife [ Pine Martens, Polecats, Wild Cats for example.] Such use is regarded as reckless and strictly against the law.
It was such a shattering blow when (around 2011)MSP’s voted to ban snares, only to have Michael Russell, when Environment Minister, overrule that vote and instead just tightened regulations- eg ruling that all snares be checked every 24 hrs ( even if in most remote areas, where who could check that was enforced) . Whenever I was asked to join SNP, when leafleting for Indy , I quoted this.
Snaring is such a barbaric practice, is banned in the majority of European countries, and , like driven grouse shooting , has no place in a Scotland that claims to be a progressive country