Wildlife Matters is lifting the lid on wildlife traps by exposing the tools used by Gamekeepers – some legal, some illegal, but all in everyday use – to trap, injure and kill our native wildlife.
Gamekeepers on Grouse moors utilise a sinister array of lethal devices to snare native predators of the beloved farmed grouse, destined to be shot for human pleasure and game meat.
Landowners, hunters, and poachers brazenly employ a myriad of traps and snares, some legal and others illegal, to mercilessly massacre wildlife, both wild and domesticated, who wander into their deadly killing devices.
These vicious contraptions cause a slow and agonising death for any creatures unlucky enough to be ensnared within them.
Snares
Snares are drawn steel wire nooses used to trap animals. They are classed as ‘self-locking’ snares which are illegal or free-running snares which are legal.
Locking Snare
Dual Purpose Snares – Illegal
Often known as the ‘fox snare’ it is an illegal contraption filled with horror and fear. It is a self-locking device with a wire threaded through the vertical strut that cruelly ensnares its victims. Despite the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 outlawing such inhumane contraptions, they remain readily available and continue to be used, leaving countless animals to suffer slow and agonisingly painful deaths.
Home Made Snares
The homemade snares are both devious and deadly, clamped down like a vice or running wild, leaving an unsuspecting and helpless creature caught in its grip.
Homemade snares set for rabbits are often crude and merciless, causing unimaginable pain and distress to the unfortunate victim.
Rabbit Snares
The glint of the brass wire catches the sunlight in an eerie way, as the nooses on the snares subtly sway in the air.
The ‘tealers’ are made of a strong nylon cord, designed to be strong and unbreakable – a silent killer in the dark countryside.
The same cable that caught this brown hare, snuffing out its life without mercy or remorse. A deadly reminder of the indiscriminate impact of snares.
Pole Snares – Illegal
Despite its illegality, the consequences of this grisly trap are often difficult to prove. Called a ‘Kill Pole’, its purpose is to ensnare a fox, allowing it to strangle itself as it gets tangled in the metal prongs during a frantic struggle for freedom.
Spring Traps Gin Trap – Illegal
The Gin Trap is a sinister device, designed to ensnare its victims. Its jaws are lined with sharp-toothed serrations, ready to puncture and rip.
Even though their use has been outlawed in the UK since 1958, they remain a sinister danger, lurking and waiting with cutting efficiency to trap any unsuspecting wild creatures or pets unlucky enough to pass through.
The Trap’s deadly jaws are most commonly set up by Gamekeepers across small streams or logs, meaning that any creature that wishes to cross the water is forced through the jaws of this malevolent contraption.
A Gin Trap is a mechanical device designed to catch an animal by the leg using spring-operated jaws. These can have a serrated edge or teeth. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The use of gin traps has been illegal in the UK since 1958, however, they are still in use today, causing carnage today to wildlife and pets.
Spring Traps are often used by Gamekeepers on a log or tree across a small stream. This means animals have to pass through the trap to cross the water, as in the picture below.
Spring Trap Fenn Traps – legal
The Fenn Trap is a vicious contraption used by gamekeepers to capture birds of prey. It is placed menacingly on top of a fence post. It comes in two sizes, the MK4 or MK6, and while legal, they are frequently seen in use on Grouse moors.
They are fatal to any unsuspecting birds of prey that wander too close to the trap as it waits to snap shut like a crushing its prey in a single crushing motion.
Fenn Traps are the most common spring trap used by gamekeepers. Sometimes referred to as Solway Spring Trap. Although legal, it is an offence to set any spring trap in the open.
Kania Trap 2000 – legal
The Kania Trap 2000 is a highly controversial device created in Canada with one purpose: death.
It has been given the green light by DEFRA to be used in the UK to kill grey squirrels.
A growing number of conservationists are voicing concerns about the trap as it has been known to cause horrific deaths to woodpeckers, who often mistake it for a safe hiding place when attached to trees and hedgehogs when placed at the foot of trees.
Scissor Style Trap – legal
The Scissor Style Mole Trap stands ominously above the ground, ready to strike with its razor-sharp metal spikes.
As the unsuspecting mole passes beneath, the trap is triggered and the spikes lunge down with a speed like lightning, ruthlessly piercing the mole’s body and guaranteeing an agonising end.
The Hopper – legal
The Hopper or Poison hopper isn’t a trap but can easily be confused with one. It can contain poisoned bait. They come in a range of sizes and different designs.
Cage Traps -legal
The cruel cage traps are classed as ‘humane’, yet they generate fear, pain, and extreme distress for the animal, sometimes for days.
The wire mesh constructions come in various sizes for different species and are often hidden from view. When the animal steps onto the footplate or hook connected to the trigger, the trap shuts them in.
When the Gamekeeper who set it checks the trap the vulnerable creature, usually a fox or Badger is then shot at point-blank range.
Far too many times Wildlife Matters has found these traps soaked with blood and with skin and organ tissue still on the wire mesh, where the Gamekeeper setting the trap cannot be bothered to clean it before reuse. This is a cross-contamination issue and a big disease risk.
Bird Traps
Larsen Trap
The nefarious Larsen Trap lures vulnerable birds, like magpies, crows and rooks, into a living death trap from which they can never escape.
The noose tightens as other unsuspecting birds of prey and countless other species of birds get caught in its deadly grasp, only to be cruelly shot without mercy.
Larsen traps, though legal to use in many places, must be inspected regularly or they become an illegal prison for captured birds.
In Denmark, where these killing devices were first created, the Larsen Trap is banned.
But since 1988, Larsen Traps have been used in the United Kingdom with the connivance of the GWCT Game, Wildlife & Countryside Trust, an alleged conservation charity that first used them.
Ladder Trap
Larger in size than Larsen traps, Ladder traps loom like menacing sentinels.
Technically legal in the UK when attended, these lethal contraptions can still be found left wide open and unsupervised, turning them into instruments of illegal hunting. Unchecked, they bring swift and merciless death to their unsuspecting prey.
The cruelty of the animal traps used in the UK is simply unfathomable; these sadistic devices are designed to slowly and painfully kill innocent creatures.
Even worse, some traps have such an immense force that they can instantly snap necks, leaving smaller animals to suffer with their broken bodies in agonising discomfort.
Wildlife Matters is determined to see a ban on all animal traps in the UK. Such a senseless act of brutality should not be tolerated and those who use these killer devices must be held accountable for their heinous actions.
Further Reading
Types of Animal Traps in the UK by National Anti Snaring Campaign
Snares by League Against Cruel Sports
Spring Traps and the Law by Protect the Wild
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