The League believes snaring is a cruel, indiscriminate, ineffective and an outdated method of predator control. The League believes that regulation is not working, is ineffective in addressing animal welfare concerns and the only way to address this is to completely ban the manufacture, sale and use of all snares.
An undercover investigation '
Tightening the noose' was carried out by the League in Northern Ireland in early 2010 into the use of snares on key shooting estates. It found mass breaches of the code of conduct which informally regulates the practice of snaring. The League found snares set with no stops as well as snares set over water courses and attached to drag poles, all of which contravene industry guidelines.
Unfortunately the Northern Assembly did not ban snares as part of the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill, but instead opted for formal regulation. This will happen through subordinate legislation which will be consulted on in the next year or two. The League will continue to campaign for a ban on snares and will input into further legislation.
For more information you can download our most recent
Northern Ireland Snaring Briefing which includes the case for a ban and a comparison case study on failing regulation in Scotland.
For further background information on snaring and details of our UK-wide snares campaign, visit the
snaring campaign pages.