Abstract
Determining The Extent Of Use And Humaneness Of Snares In England And Wales. This Project Aims To Identify The Scale Of Use Of Snares Within England And Wales And The Welfare Impact Of Routine Use. The Potential For Snares To Cause Serious Injury Has Been Established. Their Continued Use Is Allowed, Based On The Belief That They Are An Essential Tool Needed For Pest Control. Previous Investigations Into Snare Use (Targeting Supporters Of Snaring) Can Be Criticised For Being Neither Independent Nor Representative Of The Countryside As A Whole. This Project Will Use A Survey Protocol That Cannot Be Criticised On These Grounds. The Survey Will Firstly Quantify The Extent Of Snare Use Across Randomly Picked Samples Of Land Holdings, In Each Of Four Broad Categories Of Rural Land-Use. Further Questions Will Then Be Addressed To The Relevant Persons Carrying Out This Snaring, To Establish The Scale And Seasonality Of Use. Although Snares Have The Potential To Cause Serious Injury, The Occurrence Of Such Injuries During Routine Use Has Not Been Assessed. This Project Will Use A Combination Of Physical Injury And Behavioural Indicators To Assess The Humaneness Of Rabbit And Fox Snares, Used According To The Code Of Best Practice. By A Similar Approach, A Comparison Will Be Made Between Snares With And Without `Stops` Which Prevent Closure Beyond A Certain Diameter (Both Kinds Of Snare Are Legal). In Summary, The Project Will: 1. Determine The Scale Of Use Of Snares In England And Wales. 2. Determine The Impact Of The Introduction Of The Code Of Best Practice And Compliance With Statutory Legislation. 3. Evaluate The Humaneness Of Snares Used According To Code Of Best Practice. 4. Determine The Importance Of Stopped Snares And Inspection Times In Relation To Humaneness.
United Kingdom