WAV Comment:

This petition has now received over 100,000 signatures, which under UK Parliamentary rules, means that the issue is entitled to be considered for debate in the House of Commons by members of parliament (MP’s)..

We support the Committee’s letter asking for evidence to be published before any debate on this issue, so this can be discussed by MPs.  Hopefully this will be by 21/4/22.

In a UK Government survey in 2012 it was found that three quarters of animals caught, killed or wounded in snares included animals such as badgers, hares, deer, otters and family cats and dogs i.e. not the intended targets.

Snares | League Against Cruel Sports

How many animals are caught in snares?

 Like landmines, snares are indiscriminate, because these wire traps can’t tell the difference between a fox, your family pet or a protected species.

As a result, the amount and diversity of animals that fall victim to these snare traps is immense. Snares capture any animal that happens to step into them. In 2012 a UK government study found that only around a quarter of the animals caught in snares were the intended targets (normally foxes). The remaining three quarters of the animals caught, severely injured or killed in these vicious nooses included hares, badgers, family cats and dogs, deer and even otters.

Based on the government’s 2012 research, we estimate that snares may be trapping up to 1,700,000 animals every year.

Regards Mark

Dear Mark Johnson,

You recently signed the petition “Make the use of free-running snares illegal for trapping wildlife”:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/600593

The Petitions Committee has written to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ask when the Government plans to launch its call for evidence on the use of snares, which was announced in the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare.

Read the Committee’s letter: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9579/documents/162171/default/

The petition you signed, calling on the Government to make the use of free-running snares illegal for trapping wildlife, has passed the 100,000 signature to be considered for debate, and is currently waiting to be scheduled for a debate. The Chair of the Committee Catherine McKinnell MP, in her letter, states it would be preferable for the Government’s call for evidence to be published before any debate on this issue, so this can be discussed by MPs, and asks the Government to confirm when this will be published.

We will share the Government’s response with you when this is received, and will let you know as soon as a debate on the petition you signed is scheduled.

The Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare

The Government published its Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021. This set out the Government’s plans, aims and ambitions across animal welfare, and included a commitment to launch a call for evidence on the use of snares. The Action Plan stated that “The government considers it timely to open this call for evidence to make sure it has the very latest understanding on this issue”.

Read the Action Plan for Animal Welfare: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/action-plan-for-animal-welfare/action-plan-for-animal-welfare

Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament