On the 21st March, in a landmark moment, the Scottish Government banned snares. This was a huge moment for us, as we had been campaigning for decades for a snaring ban in Scotland. 

Our brilliant supporters have been by our side throughout the years, lending their activism and support to marches down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, rallies outside Parliament, petitions and letter-writing actions. We’ve also produced reports that were circulated amongst MSPs, ran a dedicated snare reporting tool, and undertaken significant parliamentary work. 

In celebration, we’d like to share some of our more recent highlights with you. 

Protested with League Against Cruel Sports (2008)

In 2008, alongside our friends at the League Against Cruel Sports, we lobbied outside the Scottish Parliament and demonstrated in Edinburgh city centre in favour of a snaring ban.  

Supportive MSPs joined us outside the Parliament as volunteers donned animal costumes of those species that are often trapped in snares.  

We also placed an ad for our campaign website on a local Edinburgh bus. 

Welcome to Scotland: a snare-free country stunt (2010) 

In 2010, to launch our latest snaring campaign, we headed once again to the Scottish Parliament. This time we temporarily installed a Scottish Flag with the words ‘Welcome to Scotland: A snare-free country’ to demonstrate the public will for a snaring ban in Scotland. 

We also had four-legged campaigners in tow! 

Launched our SnareWatch reporting tool (2011) 

In 2011, we launched our snare reporting website, SnareWatch.org. We appealed for reports about snares from members of the public all over the UK, which we then highlighted across our channels and in the media. This highlighted the physical and mental suffering that snares inflicted upon animals - wild, farmed, and companion, to the public. 

Presenter and naturalist, Bill Oddie, fronted our launch film in 2011, titled: Snares Uncovered - Killers in the Countryside. 

We also produced several reports highlighting case studies of animals harmed by snares, which were referred to by both MSPs and MPs in the Scottish and UK Parliaments. 

Scottish Government introduced more stringent snaring legislation (2011) 

In 2011, the Scottish Parliament introduced more stringent snaring legislation than anywhere else in the UK and committed to reviewing the legislation every 5 years. We were instrumental in prompting and shaping that legislation, through our work to inform and persuade MSPs, Ministers and civil servants.  

This was a significant step, but it wasn’t enough to stop the suffering inflicted by snares. And so, we continued campaigning for a ban on the use, manufacture and sale of snares in Scotland. 

Hustings for the Scottish Parliamentary elections (2016 & 2021) 

In both 2016 and 2021, OneKind, alongside several other key animal welfare organisations, hosted a joint animal welfare hustings ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections. 

Snares featured significantly at both hustings, with the panel of candidates being questioned about their support for a snaring ban.  

Polling carried out by OneKind ahead of the 2021 hustings, also revealed that 76% of the Scottish public want to see a ban on snares.*

Publication of Untold Suffering Report (2019) 

In 2019, alongside the League Against Cruel Sports, we published our Untold Suffering report as part of the Revive coalition for grouse moor reform in Scotland. The report documented the physical and mental suffering inflicted by the traps and snares that are used to kill animals so that more grouse can be shot for ‘sport’. It also called on the Scottish Government to ban these traps and snares. 

Read the report

The report was praised by TV Presenter and Conservationist, Chris Packham, who commented: 

"It is not a comfortable read. It puts the spotlight on a perverse and cruel situation that is hidden from the public gaze ... It calls for an end to indiscriminate cruelty, and it calls for an end to the unnecessary killing". 

Supporter actions to ban snares (2019- 2023) 

In 2019, we petitioned the Scottish Parliament to conduct a full review of the animal welfare impacts of the use of traps and snares on grouse moors and elsewhere in Scotland.  

In 2022, more than 1,650 of our supporters wrote to the Minister for Environment and Land Reform (at that time), Màiri McAllan to urge the Government to introduce a full ban on the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Scotland. 

Later that year, the Scottish Government consulted on proposals to change some wildlife ‘management’ practices, including further regulation of snaring. We utilised our supporters to respond to the consultation, calling for a ban on snaring as opposed to further regulation. 

During this time, we also had written correspondence and met with Ministers and government officials multiple times, providing evidence and making the case for a ban.  

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile march (2022) 

Towards the end of 2022, hundreds of people marched alongside ourselves, League Against Cruel Sports Scotland and Scottish Badgers calling for a real foxhunting and snaring ban in Scotland. 

Crowds took to the Royal Mile with placards, banners and costumes as we marched down the Royal Mile, led by a brilliant bagpiper and mascot Fergus the Fox, to the Scottish Parliament, where we then hosted a rally with MSPs and virtual support from celebrities Chris Packham and Peter Egan.  

We were also delighted to be joined on the day by Wildlife TV Presenter and Conservationist, Megan McCubbin. 

Raised awareness at the Revive conferences (2019-2023) 

Since 2019, we have joined panels and spoken to large audiences at Revive’s National Conferences to reform Scotland’s grouse moors.  

We continuously raised awareness of the suffering snares can cause, and the range of species of animal that are trapped in them. 

The day snares were consigned to history (2024) 

And, of course, the most significant day of all, 21/03/24: the day that the Scottish Parliament voted to pass the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, making it an offence to use a snare to trap a wild animal, or in any way that is likely to injure a wild animal.  

Of the ban, OneKind’s patron, Chris Packham, commented: 

"The only thing snares were protecting was the cruelest parts of the shooting industry. Today is a big win for Scotland, for compassion and for common sense, but most importantly a win for our severely declining wildlife...Huge thanks to OneKind, a host of other welfare organisations, the Scottish public and ministers - we must all take bolder, unified action to stop the relentless war on nature". 

We must extend a huge thank you to all our colleagues, past and present, like-minded organisations and individuals, supporters and MSPs that worked tirelessly to secure this ban. Together, we consigned snares to Scotland’s history books. 

 

 *(All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,055 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th – 10th November 2020. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scotland adults (aged 18+).