Hunting with dogs may be ‘banned’, but hunting and “pest control” is still very much alive and kicking on British soil. And it’s not even just the chasing and killing of foxes and rabbits that have us all concerned, it’s the use of snares in Scotland that are getting people’s backs up. The government says that measures announced in February “strictly limit the use of snares and ban those capable of inflicting unnecessary suffering”. Hmm, that’s not what we’re seeing, and a League Against Cruel Sports investigation definitely reports otherwise. Rotting hare corpses, anyone?
Now, there just one thing bugging me here and that’s the relationship between these snares that maim, cut and kill wild (and domestic, don’t forget there’s no ‘anti-cat’ device on these horrible instruments) animals up in Scotland, and the snares that trap animals for fur. There are fur items for sale all across the UK and the world, that involve immense suffering because of traps.
Let’s look at the steel-jaw trap, the most widely used trap in the fur industry. This simple but barbaric device was banned in the UK in 1958 and throughout Europe in 1991, but other places, including Canada and some states in the United States, continue to use it. The worst part? Seventy per cent of the furs that are exported from Canada and the United States are destined for Europe. That’s here! Pole traps (where animals are hoisted into the air and left to hang) were also banned in the UK in 1904 because of their cruelty but are still commonly used elsewhere.
So, sure it really, really sucks that some hares were found dead in traps up in Scotland, but also don’t ever forget about the wider issue. Always boycott fur, and forward this video to your friends. That is your mission.
Sigh. To have 
