It’s a landmark day in Scotland as the new snare ban commences.
A full ban on the use of snares was passed by the Scottish Parliament in March 2024 as part of the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act (here) and the ban finally takes effect today, 25 November 2024.
This is a significant victory for animal welfare campaigners, especially the League Against Cruel Sports, OneKind and Scottish Badgers, but also many others, who have spent decades putting forward evidence that these devices, recently and cynically named ‘humane cable restraints’ by the game-shooting industry, are actually cruel, indiscriminate and inhumane and have no place in modern society.
The game-shooting industry did its best to disrupt the commencement date. A consortium of the usual suspects (Scottish Land & Estates, Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Scottish Countryside Alliance, BASC Scotland, Scotland’s Regional Moorland Groups and the Scottish Association for Country Sports), joined this time by the National Farmers Union of Scotland, wrote an overly-dramatic letter in October to the Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee to complain about the commencement of the ban.
They suggested that the principles behind the snare ban had ‘not been afforded the customary levels of parliamentary scrutiny’ (even though this subject has been a topic of political debate and public consultation for at least 15 years!), and they complained that Ministers hadn’t conducted a Business & Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) prior to the commencement of the snare ban, and they strongly suggested that this should afford a delay to the commencement of the ban.
The Committee duly wrote to Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie, who dismissed the concerns:
As of today, the use of snares in Scotland is unlawful. If you find one, take a photograph of it in situ, record the location and report it immediately to Police Scotland and/or the Scottish SPCA. Ask for a reference code so you can follow up on what action was taken, especially if it was found on a grouse-shooting estate (a set snare is a breach of the new licence).
You might decide you want to cut/destroy the unlawful snare. The law on this is murky and open to interpretation. If you are concerned that the snare will remain set/operational and the police/SSPCA can’t attend for some time, I’d suggest your best option (to protect wildlife and to protect yourself from potential legal action) is to advise the police/SSPCA what you intend to do and the reason for that decision, BEFORE you do it. NB: This is not formal legal advice – you are responsible for your own actions!
Raptor Persecution UK 
what us the mist common ground nesting bird in the Highlands?
I have just been blocked from putting up a post congratulating Scot Gov on their snaring ban! What excuse can they have?
Superb! Well done as well to the National Anti Snare Campaign. Excellent work.
It’s time to ban snares in England.
It certainly is time – well done to the Scots for showing the way.
Thanks from Animal Interfaith Alliance.
Well done to everyone who fought for years to achieve this. I know a handful of locations of stinkpits / middens which have been active for years, when I get time to visit them I would hope to see not only an absence of snares around the dead stuff but also the whole place falling into a derelict & naturally overgrown state. But if the pathways that run through it (upon which the snares are set) are being kept clearly defined with a strimmer or with weedkiller, and if the pegs/stakes & their shackles (upon which snares are secured) are not either gone or being covered over either by growing vegetation or with regular falls of pine needles from above, then I will smell a rat – even above the usual pong of manky corpses of pheasants, ducks, rabbits, hares, roe deer & foxes.
Ever since I was nine years old I’ve waited for this!
Good news, let’s hope it can be policed and that it becomes law in the rest of the British Isles!
I really didn’t believe that they would get this through after the last minute attempt to frustrate it — and am happy to be proved wrong in this instance. Thanks to all who helped over the years.
A great day for animal welfare in Scotland and hopefully, even if they need a nudge or two an example to Westminster to get on with a ban in England , there is no excuse to keep snares.
Advice for those finding an illegal snare, there is no need to cut it to render it inoperable. I suggest you put a stick through the loop pull it tight and then push the end of said stick into the ground with the wire reasonably tight, inform the police that you have done this to render the snare intact but inoperable when you report it.
While this is a momentous day for wildlife in general, let’s not fall into the trap(!) of thinking that gamekeepers will obey the law. Raptors are protected, yet they continue to be trapped, poisoned, shot, by the thick, ignorant and fat landowners, who care more about money than wildlife. The authorities need to concentrate on one, big name, prosecution.
Look at Africa horrendous injuries or death humans are bloody cruel..more thermal night shooting will be done?
This is most welcome news, and is a *great* credit to Scotland. It is (unnecessarily) overdue. Wales set the pace with their ban in October 17th 2023.Snares are not banned in either Northern Ireland or England. That is a disgrace.
The GWCT still have this on their website:
“Legalities of snaring
Legitimate use
In all parts of the UK, snares may be set to catch foxes, rabbits and brown hares, provided you are the landowner or have the landowner’s permission…
Get your FREE fox snaring guide from the GWCT team”
(Although, elsewhere, they do say a ban will come in for Scotland… )
The Scottish Government still have this to say:
“Trapping and snaring are methods which can be legitimately used for the control of some types of wildlife such as corvids, rodents or foxes….”
See https://www.gov.scot/publications/wildlife-crime-in-scotland-2022-2/pages/trapping-and-snaring-additional-breakdown/
And this:
” It’s an offence to set a snare (trap for catching wildlife) unless you’ve completed training and applied to your local police station for a snare identification number.”
See https://www.mygov.scot/snare-identification-number
While Police Scotland still claim:
“Do not interfere with legal countryside practices such as the legal use of traps and snares, hides, high seats, and shooting butts.”
See https://www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/wildlife-crime/
It seems several large and powerful organisations need to keep their ‘official’ on-line advice a bit more up-to-date, despite the inordinate length of time between passing the Act (21st March 2024) and the ban coming into effect (25th November 2024).
Keith Darcey you are funny but it’s true get your free fox snaring guide etc but well done to all welfare charities my supporters money is well spent and as usual your comments are uplifting and we all hope England will follow. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of finding a fox in a snare not checked died terrible and my dog ran into our local woods and was caught by his front paw he was a big dog so he didn’t come to any harm just yelping we found him and pulled it out . Awful unnecessary things as with all cruelty.
Any set snares found are now fair game as far as I’m concerned. Wire cutters and take my chances. Will the owner of the snares really try to get me prosecuted? Doubt it.
To some they were always fair game.
Mark Hammond also hit the nail on the head I hope it’s taken seriously and these ignorant horrible people are prosecuted and licences removed . NFU make me laugh some farming and farmers should be supervised more closely I have witnessed some appalling cruelty over time but on the up I know some excellent farmers.