The Act Snares Section 6—Prohibition of use of snares
21.This section amends the 1981 Act to prohibit the use of snares. Subsection (2) prohibits the use of snares, except for snares operated by hand, for the purpose of killing or taking any animal and also prohibits using a snare to cause bodily injury to any animal that comes into contact with it. The amendments do not apply to wild birds—this is because section 5(1) of the 1981 Act already prohibits the use of snares for the purpose of killing or taking a wild bird, or using a snare to cause bodily injury to any wild bird that comes into contact with it. Snares operated by hand are still permitted for use on any animal (other than a wild bird) and by their nature would require a person to monitor and manually operate the snare.
22.“Snare” is not defined in the 1981 Act and so takes its ordinary meaning. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “snare” means “a device for capturing small wild animals or birds, usually consisting of a string with a running noose in which a foot or the head may be caught”. Any type of cable restraint would therefore be a snare and their use would be prohibited.
23.Subsection (3) repeals sections 11A to 11F of the 1981 Act. Those sections contain provisions relating to the use of snares, such as training requirements and requirements for identification numbers and for record keeping.
24.Subsection (4) amends section 16 of the 1981 Act to remove the ability of the licensing authority to grant a licence to authorise the use of a snare for the purpose of killing or taking wild animals or killing wild birds. A licence under section 16(1) can still be granted for use of snares for the purpose of taking a wild bird in limited circumstances.
25.Subsections (5) to (7) make consequential amendments to the 1981 Act to remove references to snares and the snaring provisions repealed by subsection (4).