Report to the People
25th February 2008
Anti-cruelty Bid Snared
The
number of letters, emails and postcards I receive every time a question of
preventing cruelty to animals arises in parliament underlines that we are still
proud to be a nation of animal lovers.
It
was no surprise, then, that so many of you made your voice heard in the debate
over snaring.
This
is a practice which the vast majority of us - about 75%, in fact - want to see
in the history books. Asides from
the cruelty aspect, snares are not particularly effective. A recent SPCA report stated that only 23% of the animals
caught in snares are pests such as foxes and rabbits.
The
problem is that snares are like landmines - they are indiscriminate.
They don’t know if they’ve caught a pest, a pet, or a protected
species.
I
was hopeful that the Scottish Government would listen to these arguments and the
strength of public opinion when it came to rule on whether these inhumane traps
should be outlawed. Sadly, though,
when the Environment Minister came to announce his decision to the parliament
last Wednesday, it was clear they had done neither.
He
refused a ban, instead promising the introduction of some regulations, including
putting up signs in snaring areas (presumably to protect the cats, otters and
badgers who can read).
Sadly,
these provisions are lacking detail or even a timetable. And,
while the finer points are deliberated over, blameless animals will continue to
be at risk of a slow, painful death.
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