Press release from Green Britain Foundation (23 October 2025)
LANDMARK: FIRST FORMAL ILLEGAL SNARE-USE INVESTIGATION SINCE BANS IN WALES/SCOTLAND
Footage obtained by Green Britain Foundation shows alleged snare-setting at a stink pit near Ruabon Moor, North Wales
Green Britain Foundation (GBF) has obtained undercover footage prompting what is believed to be the first formal police investigation in either Wales or Scotland into suspected snare use since the bans came into force. The footage shows individuals checking and setting snares at a stink pit* on the edge of Ruabon Grouse Moor in North Wales, within Llandegla Forest. The footage has been supplied to North Wales Police and a formal investigation is now underway.
*A “stink pit” is a bait site where dead animals (“carcasses”) are piled specifically to attract wildlife, typically predators, towards surrounding snares.
Snares are illegal in Wales (since 2023) and banned in Scotland (since 2024). Offences include setting a snare and permitting snares to be set on one’s land.
Dale Vince, Founder, Green Britain Foundation, says:
“Snares are medieval cruelty. Wales and Scotland banned them for good reason. This footage shows people ignoring the law, continuing to use snares to kill wild animals in support of the bloodsport business. Snares are indiscriminate, killing all kinds of wildlife in the most hideously cruel way. The police are investigating, and that’s welcome. Landowners are complicit in this, snares are used to kill wildlife in support of bird breeding as part of the business – shooting birds for sport and for money. Labour should make good on its pre-election pledge and ban snares in England – without further delay.”
What the footage shows
28 June 2025 – live snares documented ~20m inside the Llandegla Forest boundary, arranged around a “stink pit” (carcasses used to attract predators).
30 June – 15 August 2025 – Covert cameras record multiple visits by several individuals believed to be engaged in gamekeeping; apparent checking/adjusting of snares and servicing of the site.
25 July 2025 – Carcasses of red-legged partridges logged at the stink pit.
25 August 2025 – Police notified; officers attended, documented the scene, and removed snares as evidence.
Status: North Wales Police have commenced a formal investigation.
Why it matters
- Landmark enforcement moment: Believed to be the first formal police investigation into suspected snare use in a UK nation after the bans in Wales and Scotland—an early indicator of how enforcement will work in practice.
- Purpose on shooting estates: Snares are commonly deployed as “predator control” to maximise numbers of grouse and other gamebirds for commercial and recreational shoots—in short, a tool to ensure those who shoot birds for fun can shoot more of them.
- Indiscriminate by design: Snares cannot select species—they can and do catch non-target wildlife (such as badgers) and have been known to catch pet cats and dogs.
- Landowner responsibility: We understand Llandegla Forest is linked to estates associated with the Church Commissioners for England. GBF calls for full cooperation and compliance audits across relevant holdings.
- England’s policy gap: England has not yet introduced a snaring ban. With workable bans in Wales and Scotland, GBF urges the Labour Government to make good on its pledge and implement a ban in England as a priority.
ENDS
This is interesting on several levels.
First of all, as the press release points out, this is believed to be the first police investigation into alleged snaring offences since snaring was banned in Wales two years ago. Given the high quality close footage provided to North Wales Police, there shouldn’t be any of the usual problems of not being able to identify the individuals seen attending the site.
Secondly, the location of the alleged offence is next to Ruabon Moor, the only grouse-shooting estate in North Wales. Ruabon Moor has been at the centre of a number of police investigations in recent years, including the suspicious disappearance of a number of satellite-tagged Hen Harriers, the discovery of a poisoned Raven, and the suspected use of a trap to capture Goshawks. In addition, a couple of years ago another group, called Wildlife Guardian, documented some strange behaviour on Ruabon Moor (here)
Nobody has been convicted of any offences at Ruabon Moor. A prosecution against a gamekeeper (for alleged use of a trap to take a wild bird) was abandoned last year after the Crown Prosecution Service determined that it was not in the public interest to continue – a decision that was challenged by the RSPB, North Wales Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit (see here).
The third point of interest is the group that has brought the latest alleged offences to the attention of North Wales Police. As far as I’m aware, this is the first foray into wildlife crime investigations by the Green Britain Foundation. They’ve managed to get wide press coverage, including on the BBC News website. Excellent work.
I look forward to seeing how this case progresses.
Raptor Persecution UK 
This is of particular interest to me for several reasons, the main one being that a colleague and friend of mine was accompanying someone who was caught(!) in an illegally-set snare in the Angus Glens, after the (much delayed) snare ban had come into effect in Scotland.
Unfortunately, my friend was – for personal reasons – in no position to officially report the landowner (that can happen in some small, close, communities:-(
I am, therefore, all the more pleased that the Green Britain Foundation have not only provided such expert evidence, but stood up against such behaviour.
I had never heard of this organisation, but now discover they are associated with Ecotricity and a Football Club!
while this country still allows bloodsport industry to continue killing wildlife, be that game birds, or animals, or practically anything that breathes, the practice of using snares, bait traps, and other barbaric actions will continue laws in place or not.
The laws protecting birds of prey are in place, but we still loose far to many to shootings, snares and traps, I believe there must be at least a couple of decent gamekeepers out there, but far more dishonest ones.
Until the shooting of birds and animals has been outlawed permanently we will continue to see wildlife being killed, its all about making as much money as they can, so protecting the game birds is more important to the landowners, and bloodsport industry, than following the laws.
Almost every week I hear about a bird of prey being found under suspicious circumstances, and typically the birds are heavy due to the lead shot in them, the killing industry would have you believe the birds have ingested the lead shot by eating it, the truth however is it has been ingested through the skin, tooo many birds of prey have been killed for the game industry, it needs to stop.
Apparently we have government bodies responsible for upholding the laws, making the laws, and protecting the birds and wildlife, but they seem to be forgetting the purpose of these organisations.
From what I have read defra, stands for death, Extinction, for, redlist, animals, and then there is natural England, if i read it correctly names on the list of board members includes some big names in the game killing industry, and some big landowners who coincidentally run shoots on their land, was this a qualification to join defra?, or was it a clever move by the shooting industry?, having an insider within defra, to help loose information, and squash wildlife crimes convictions,?.
I believe the government officials responsible for protection of wildlife in this country should be run by people who have absolutely no interest in the shooting industry, be that financial or physical links.
what is needed is someone who cares about the natural landscape, wildlife, and diversity of species of plants, animals, birds, etc, this country tends to empower people with no idea about what is needed to protect the country, wildlife, land, etc, and we get someone who will ask the landowners what they need from the organisation, or the shooting industry what will work for them to help them keep the rights to continue killing wildlife, with that in mind, there is little wonder why so many birds and animals are still being killed to the benefit of the game industry.
We need to get a grip on the industry, and stop all shooting for fun, i hear the shooting estates waffle on about how much money they bring into the local areas, and use this as a reason to keep on shooting, but the wages go to the few staff locally, and a few odd purchases from people as they travel to the estate, but this is small in comparison to what they make.
I feel more money could be raised for locals, and local businesses if the land was allowed to be use for nature reserves, and letting people visit some of the estates, and this would have a bigger impact by helping nature, and wildlife.
I also hear the story of managed land being better for nature, not sure about that at all, where the estates have brood meddled we have seen a massive decline in hen harrier population, and with short vegetation a lot of wildlife cannot remain hidden, the hen harrier should never be interfered with, and whoever agreed to let this practice happen should be fined for being complicit with the destruction of nests.
The fact snares and traps are still being used on or near shooting estates should be enough proof that the shooting industry will not change, or take notice of the law.
There are too many times they have been let off charges and conviction because they have good lawyers, the law needs to be changed to include any crime committed on shooting estates should be pushed through court, and the owner, and estate shooting licence suspended, if a second crime is then reported the licence should be revoked, with a 5 year stop on shooting, then if during or after the 5 year holding time more crimes are committed a permanent ban on that estate, as well as the owners, I feel this would drive the message home to all shooting estates, and the industry as a whole, and would have a marked improvement on wildlife protection, it would most definitely give the industry a reason to protect nature not persecute it.
But thats just my opinion. I am sure there are many out there that would agree in principle at least, but something needs to change or we will see more wildlife go extinct in our lifetimes.
Interesting, I first heard of Dale Vince earlier this year when he hung a huge Palestinian flag off his Ecotricity HQ in Stroud, annoyed many locals and the planners because he didn’t have PP and refused to take it down, could be a useful person to have on side
This disgusting backwards mentality makes me sick these people are not fit to walk the earth stink pits snares still brings back memories of the poor cyclist in Scotland vile abhorrent people xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx. They are heartless individuals my partner legally trail rides off road and recently a young man was chased on a legal track by pick up on moors at 60mph knocked of his trail bike by ? farmer ? Gamekeeper left him seriously injured they didn’t manage to get reg number these people are not right in the head fines jail fie these genius acts.
I agree with you that some gamekeepers, and I have known some of them, are a weird, taciturn bunch, and I would go further and say that they are sociopathic, sadistic wildlife killers
True. Some are all that, and selfish – they know what they are doing is often wrong & illegal but just love their lifestyle and status too much to want to do anything else.
The difficult group to get ones head around are the many others who are in all other respects good people. Family orientated, loyal husbands, good fathers. Totally law abiding – would be the first to pick up a lost wallet or tenner on the pavement outside the Post Office and find the owner etc, etc.
But they believe to their core that their ways and their lore of keepering, etc is right – their work is good, necessary work and the ends justify it – even if the means are often against the law.
Worryingly, these are also the ones among the peer group that are usually viewed as the “best” (they usually hold the better jobs for years and years) and I actually think they are just not capable of changing. Nothing other than a realistic possibility of prison would potentially deter them IMO.
henous acts
This is surprising and very interesting. Surprising not because someone is carrying on snaring despite the ban (I expect that) but because the people setting them must have known there were “nosey do-gooders” knocking about after the previous things that were investigated. Must have either thought these stinkpits were well hidden enough, or just not given a shit I suppose.
Interesting because what happens next will say something about the will of the authorities to either enforce the law or look for excuses to drop these types of investigations. And we will know whether this is a real law or a “just for show” law – a bit like the raptor persecution laws.
Last thought, I had a nosey a few months ago to a wood that I knew was always full of snares (Scotland). Only had time to walk the fringes and found that the snares (about 80 – 100) were gone but the snare pegs, the stragically placed brashings, the stinkpits (albeit with no recent corpses added), the offal bin still full of black slime feather and bone, etc was still in place. Said to myself that this is either encouraging (they had changed their ways and followed the law) or they had (a) moved snare operations to deeper inside the plantation (b) might only dare operate them in foul middle-of-winter weather (when nobody without a 4wd will make the difficult walk to investigate). So my thought is this – it is going to take very keen “nosey do-gooders” to do the leg work to find them as the easy ones will have been removed, and of course there is zero chance of the authorities leaving the office to find them of their own free will.
Ps big well done to the ” nosey do-gooders” in this case!
There have been problems with unlawful fox hunting in this area and the Hunt Saboteurs have met with huge challenges there. Dale Vince has become more political and it is to be hoped this is continued. His autobiography is worth reading: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/441556/manifesto-by-robb-dale-vince-with-john/9781529909852