Tomorrow (Weds 8 November 2023) will see another evidence session in front of the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee on the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on all snares and a proposed extension of powers for the Scottish SPCA.
This is all part of the Committee’s scrutiny of the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill. For new blog readers, this is the Bill that has been introduced by the Scottish Government in response to the recommendations made in the 2019 Werritty Review and is designed to bring in licensing for grouse moor management and introduce measures to put an end to the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors.
Last week the Committee heard evidence from Environment Minister Gillian Martin MSP. The video archive of that session can be seen here and the transcript can be read here.
Tomorrow’s session will include evidence from various stakeholders, first on the issue of a snare ban, and then on increased SSPCA powers, as follows:
SNARING BAN panel:
INCREASED POWERS FOR SCOTTISH SPCA panel:
I think it’s fair to predict, given the participants listed for both panels, that there’ll be very little support for the proposed snare ban and for extended powers for the SSPCA, except from Libby Anderson, Bob Elliot, Mike Flynn and Ian Thomson.
We already know the position of each organisation on these issues because it’s been talked to death in previous evidence sessions held earlier this summer (and prior to that, multiple times over the last ten years as these topics have been raised again and again). For whatever reason, it’s been decided that the Committee needs to hear from everyone again, simply because the Scottish Government held yet another public consultation this year (which resulted in overwhelming public support for a ban on all snares and for increased powers for the SSPCA – see here).
This’ll just be yet another opportunity for the grouse shooting lobby to claim that rural Armageddon will befall the Scottish countryside if barbaric snares that cause animal suffering are banned and if the SSPCA are permitted to investigate the wildlife crimes that seem to happen on a lot of driven grouse moors.
You can watch proceedings live on Scottish Parliament TV (here) and there’ll be a video archive and a transcript available shortly afterwards.
The session begins at 9am on Wednesday morning although the Committee is dealing with two other items on the agenda before these panels start.
UPDATE: Video archive of the session available to watch HERE
UPDATE: Transcript of the evidence sessions available here (from p27):
UPDATE 9 November 2023: Scottish Environment Minister proposes full ban on all snares (here)
UPDATE 15 November 2023: Supplementary evidence on snares from Scottish Animal Welfare Committee (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
Using snares is an indiscriminate and cruel method of capture, which should have no place in our modern world, now that we know better.
These should be interesting sessions and I look forward to watching them.
I see that they’re claiming that snaring is relatively little used compared with other methods of alleged humane fox control. If that’s the case, why do they kick up such a stink about it? They should accept that they cannot be 100% completist control freaks, even if it gives them sleepless nights. What they really mean is that lazy gamekeeping will no longer be an option for them once the ban is confirmed.
It’s nice to hope for miracles But money talks at the end of the day they banned hunting with dogs and just look at the unrest this is causing up and down the UK. Call the police to report illegal hunting and wait they won’t attendCall the police to report trespass ( civil matter) unless of course you are a member of the hunt and they will be there in 5 minutes this country has gone backwards no one has any faith in the police to stick to upholding the law at all this UK is completely twisted.
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Imagine on a day like today,driving rain and wind,a fox held by the neck for 24hrs waiting for a gamekeeper to come and kill it,consign it to the history books!
Well done Gillian Martin. She showed patience and fortitude in the face of inept questioning. A historic decision on snaring. Listening to the public rather than landowners with vested interests. Great news.