Pest and predator control is an essential part of conservation and wildlife management and it is necessary to reduce predation and damage to acceptable levels, particularly at vulnerable times of the year such as the nesting season.

It is the responsibility of all those involved in pest and predator control to ensure their methods are legal, humane and carried out with sensitivity and respect for quarry. When carried out properly and in accordance with BASC’s ‘Fox Snaring – A Code of Practice’ legal snaring is an effective, humane method of fox control.

Snares are not intended to kill. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits the use of self-locking snares and requires that all snares, once set in place, are inspected at least once every day. BASC’s ‘Fox Snaring – A Code of Practice’ recommends at least twice every day and as soon after dawn as is practical.

Legal, ‘free-running’ snares are essentially a restraining, not a killing device. They are designed to hold, but not kill a fox.

It is illegal to catch non-target species. Under Section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is a criminal offence to:

• Set in position any self-locking snare.
• Set in position any trap or snare intended to cause bodily injury to any wild animal listed in Schedule 6 of the Act.

(Schedule 6 animals include: badger, pine marten, otter, red squirrel, wildcat, polecat and hedgehog. Pine marten, otter, red squirrel and wild cat are also listed in Schedule 5 of the Act and are therefore fully protected. The badger and its sett are also protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.)

• Set in position any snare and fail to inspect it at least once every day.

Under the Deer Act 1991, Section 4 and Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 it is an offence to:

• Set in position any trap or snare calculated to cause bodily injury to any deer coming into contact with it, or
• Use for the purpose of taking or killing any deer any trap or snare.

Snares are a necessary form of control. It is recognised that most gamekeepers, game managers and farmers regard snaring as the second most effective method of pest control after shooting. Snaring is often the only practical alternative where shooting foxes is impractical because of the terrain or proximity to populated areas and roads.

Can anyone set a snare in position? The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 states that only ‘authorised persons’ are allowed to use snares. This term is defined as ‘the landowner or occupier, or any person authorised by the owner/occupier of the land on which the action taken is authorised’.

Is BASC doing anything to improve snaring standards?

• BASC is against illegal snaring and abuse. 
• BASC has produced ‘Fox Snaring – A Code of Practice’ for the benefit of farmers, gamekeepers or anyone who carries out pest and predator control. 
• BASC recommend that snares are inspected at least twice every day. 
• BASC provides pest and predator training days for the police and holds regular pest and predator control courses. 
• BASC is a member of the Defra Independent Working Group on Snares, under the chairmanship of the Universities’ Federation for Animal Welfare.
• BASC is an active member of the Campaign against Illegal Poisoning of Wildlife. As part of this campaign a telephone hotline was set up for members of the public to report snares suspected of being illegal.
• BASC is an active member of the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW) which is co-chaired by the DETR and Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom – Wildlife Crime Adviser to the Association of Chief Police Officers.