ADVISORY AND EDUCATION |
A new Code for fox snaring in England by Roger Draycott,
Scientists, gamekeepers and farmers have played an important role in agreeing a new Code of Practice in England.
Snare users must ensure that they are up to speed with the latest best practice recommendations.
Snaring, when undertaken according to best practice guidelines, is an extremely effective and humane method of fox control. But poor practice in the field and using inadequate hardware can increase the risk of non-target capture and increase the likelihood that a captured animal may be injured. All responsible users of snares want to reduce the chances of this happening, so we were delighted to see the publication of a new Code of Practice for fox snaring in England in the autumn of 2016. This Code, nearly identical to the Welsh Code published in 2015, was written by the GWCT, NGO, Countryside Alliance and BASC and fully endorsed by Defra. It draws heavily on the research work undertaken by the GWCT’s predation team. Since the previous Code was published in 2005, we have undertaken a considerable amount of research into the use of fox snares by different user groups, snare design, operating practices, selectivity and the condition of captured animals. We identified which practices led to a risk of poor welfare, and which designs help to minimise non-target captures. We also designed and tested a new snare. Besides using quality materials, the new breakaway snare design included several
features to increase selectivity, to avoid injury and death of retained animals, and to facilitate good operating practices. We then enlisted 34 professional gamekeepers to trial this snare for 12 months alongside whatever snare they ordinarily used. This work, published in 2012, demonstrated unambiguously that the new snare was much more selective than others, with no disadvantage in terms of fox captures. The work also showed that operating practices were critically important to the welfare of retained animals. In particular, it was essential to avoid places where a captured animal could entangle the snare with fixed objects like fences or saplings. The design of the GWCT snare makes it easy to use even in places that have no cover at all. Reassuringly, our own GWCT gamekeepers, Malcolm Brockless at Rotherfield Park and Matt Coupe at the Allerton Project, have been using a production version of the GWCT snare (available from Perdix Wildlife Supplies) for several years and they fully endorse them. The new Code reflects our current state of knowledge and its publication was
timely as it had already been submitted to Defra ahead of a debate on snaring in Westminster in July. Although we felt this debate was unlikely to trigger a change in legislation, any debate on snaring is important and represents an opportunity for GWCT to educate politicians, policy makers and the public. We prepared a detailed question-and-answer document and circulated it to over 60 MPs, with a number of MPs referring openly to our Q&A during the debate. The result was that Therese Coffey MP, Defra Minister, announced that Defra would formally adopt the industry- led Code of Practice as the way forward. We consider the wholesale adoption of the new Code by the entire snare-using community to be critical to the future continued use of fox snaring as a management tool. This process of research, invention, practical application, policy work and education is an excellent example of how the GWCT works to help improve game and wildlife conservation in the countryside. The GWCT Advisory Service can provide further information and offers a training course for snare users which covers the new Code of Practice, recommended hardware and operating practices, as well as a compre- hensive review of the GWCT science which underpins the new Codes. We strongly recommend all snare users attend a course to ensure that they are up to speed with the latest best practice recommendations. We also welcome feedback from snare users on how we can further improve snaring practice and hardware.
www.gwct.org.uk Head of Advisory
MORE INFORMATION
The latest Codes of Practice, research and advice for England, Wales and Scotland can be found at
www.gwct.org.uk/snaring. To book a training course go to
www.gwct.org.uk/courses or contact the Advisory Service on 01425 651013.
When they’re handled and set correctly, the refined components and all-metal design of the GWCT designed snare make them virtually undetectable by foxes. They comply fully with the needs of the Codes. © Mike Short/GWCT
GAME & WILDLIFE REVIEW 2016 | 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
