Scotland’s snare ban “an important day for animal welfare”

Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill passed

Scotland’s wildlife will benefit from increased protection thanks to a new law passed by the Scottish Parliament yesterday.

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill includes a range of measures that will help tackle raptor persecution, and ensure that the management of species on grouse moors is done so sustainably and with animal welfare as a priority.

The Bill:

• bans the practice of snaring in Scotland
• bans the use of glue traps to catch rodents
• gives greater powers to Scottish SPCA inspectors to tackle wildlife crime
• introduces a new licensing framework for grouse moors
• strictly regulates the use of muirburn, the controlled burning of vegetation on peatland

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said: “This Bill is a significant step in our wider journey to ensure Scotland’s environment is managed sustainably.

“People who live and work on our land have shown that it’s possible to manage wildlife. They have shown that muirburn, which is a key approach to helping manage wildfires, can be undertaken responsibly and in a way that protects biodiversity.

“We have struck the right balance between improving animal welfare, supporting rural businesses and reinforcing a zero-tolerance approach to raptor persecution and wildlife crime.”

Cats Protection says Scotland’s ban on snares is a turning point for animal welfare and will prevent cruel and horrific deaths being inflicted on pets and wildlife.

The UK’s largest cat charity has been campaigning for an outright ban on snares throughout the UK and says it is delighted Scotland is taking a step forward to protect cats and other animals from unnecessary suffering with the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill.

Alice Palombo, Advocacy and Government Relations Officer for Scotland at Cats Protection, said: “The introduction of this law is an important day for animal welfare in Scotland, and will put an end to the cruel and horrific deaths that snares inflict on pets and wildlife.

“Whether it’s domestic pet cats, feral or community cats, or any other animal captured in them, snares cause incredibly distressing injuries, often leading to animals suffering long, painful deaths.

“Those animals which do manage to free themselves, or are found and released, cannot be considered lucky as they will most likely suffer life-changing injuries requiring extensive veterinary treatment.

“We are delighted that Scotland has introduced an outright ban on snares, recognising the indiscriminate suffering they cause. These outdated, inhumane and cruel traps have no place in a modern, caring society.”

The Bill was also welcomed by cat owner Marion Brownlie, of Aberdeenshire, whose pet cat Harry was found collapsed in a field with horrific injuries last year.

Harry’s injuries were so appalling that she at first believed he had been “cut in two” when he was discovered close to his home in St Cyrus.

It is thought the ginger-and-white moggy may have been trapped in the snare for five agonising days before he was able to drag himself to safety.

Having confirmed his injuries were caused by a snare, vets carried out surgery to repair a deep wound running from hip to hip across Harry’s abdomen. He was later able to return home but needs to be confined to a cage for rest during his recovery.

Marion said: “Harry had been missing for five days when we found him collapsed in a field and it was like something from a nightmare – I was afraid to pick him up as it looked as though he’d been cut in two.

“He must have been in agony, but somehow he was still alive and after lots of veterinary treatment and rest he pulled through.

“No animal deserves the pain and suffering that these inhumane devices inflict, and I’m incredibly relieved that they have finally been banned.”

Major blow to the grouse shooting industry as Scottish Parliament passes reform Bill

Grouse moor management is to be regulated for the first time as snaring animals is also banned

The Scottish Parliament has now passed a Bill to license grouse shooting, to tackle illegal wildlife persecution on grouse moors. The killing of Scotland’s birds of prey has been associated with grouse moor management for decades and campaigners hope that this legislation will tackle the ‘national disgrace’ of raptor persecution.

The passing of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill (by 85 votes in favour to 30 votes against) means that if a wildlife crime takes place on a grouse moor it could lose its licence to operate.

It also means that heather burning (known as muirburn) will also be licensed and restricted on peatlands which are considered a vital carbon resource.

Meanwhile environmental and animal welfare campaigners are celebrating the Bill’s banning of snares: the animal traps which they deem as ‘cruel and indiscriminate’.

Responding to the grouse moor reform bill, Max Wiszniewski, the Campaign Manager for REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform said: “This Bill marks a significant intervention into land management practices in Scotland and finally regulates a controversial industry that’s responsible for environmental destruction, that restricts economic opportunities for rural communities and that kills hundreds of thousands of animals so a few more grouse can be shot for sport.

“While it doesn’t go far enough to end the ‘killing to kill’ on grouse moors, banning snares – the cruel and indiscriminate traps that are common on grouse moors – is an important win for animal welfare against an industry that was desperate to keep them.

“The extra protection of peatlands is welcome but with three quarters of Scots against moorland burning for grouse shooting, the Parliament still has some catching up to do.

“Nevertheless, this legislation will hopefully go some way to tackling the persecution of Scotland’s birds of prey, something that our first First Minister Donald Dewar called a ‘national disgrace’ in 1998.”