Perhaps now is a good time to dispel some of Ross Minett's propaganda about the use of snares to protect Scotland's wildlife. His letter (Snares are cruel and should be banned, September 7) alleges that these traps "are not only cruel but are indiscriminate and can catch non-target animals, including protected species such a mountain hares, otters and badgers". Correctly employed by a professional gamekeeper, snares are successfully targeted at the animal for which they are intended; on the rare occasion a non-target species is trapped, the snare's "stop" enables the animal to be released unharmed.
The Scottish Government's analysis of responses to the snaring consultation dealt only with the reasons why snaring should be banned, which puts his statement of a "two-to-one majority in favour of an outright ban on snares" in proper context.
Mr Minett claims snares are "incompatible with European and UK conservation legislation and should be prohibited". This is wrong. A ban on snares would leave the Scottish Government unable to meet the biodiversity targets set by the EU; thus ill-conceived legislation would leave the government (and the Scottish taxpayer) vulnerable to fines imposed by Brussels and a countryside bereft of many species of ground-nesting birds such as golden plover, lapwing, merlin, hen harrier - to name but a few.
The SGA abhors the misuse of snares by untrained people just as much as Mr Minett; however, if he really cares about animal welfare and the biodiversity of Scotland's countryside he will leave it to the professionals to judge what tools we need to carry out our jobs.
Alex Hogg, Chairman, Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Hillhead Cottage, Eddleston, Peebles.
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