We are delighted to announce that we have now rescheduled our demonstration to consign snares to history!

Our snaring demonstration will now be combined with our upcoming march for a real fox hunting ban, in partnership with League Against Cruel Sports and Scottish Badgers.

We have long campaigned for a real ban on both fox hunting and snaring in Scotland, and are excited to be incorporating the two issues into one powerful day of action.

Two barbaric practices that belong to history

Both snaring and hunting with dogs are cruel means of persecuting foxes, springing from the harmful perception that they are ‘vermin’ or ‘pests, rather than the sentient wild animals they are.

The two practices can also cause much suffering to other animals. We’ve previously discussed the indiscriminate nature of snares, which can catch up to 70% non-target wild, companion or farmed animals.

Likewise, while fox hunting is a barbaric ‘sport’ that targets foxes, other animals, such as the hounds or other wildlife in the vicinity like badgers, are harmed by this cruel pastime.

This is why we will be marching for the foxes, and all other animals that suffer due to their persecution.

An opportunity for real change

This is a uniquely opportune time for change on both issues, with the Scottish Parliament considering the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill and reviewing Scotland’s snaring legislation.

Earlier this year, we provided evidence on the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament. This Bill has the potential to finally close loopholes in legislation that have enabled fox hunting with dogs to continue in Scotland.

While The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 was introduced two decades ago to ban the hunting of wild mammals with dogs, several exceptions have enabled this cruel ‘sport’ to continue.

We strongly welcome the new Bill, but do not support exceptions to allow packs of hounds to flush foxes to guns in certain circumstances. We also strongly oppose the exception included in the Bill to allow the use of two dogs to ‘provide quarry for falconry, game shooting or deer stalking.

With the Bill currently in Stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament, now is our chance to send a strong message that we want a real fox hunting ban this time, free from loopholes.

Likewise, while legislation was introduced in 2011 to regulate the use of snares in Scotland, this has not been enough to prevent the suffering that these cruel traps inflict on animals. Decades of horrific reports to our SnareWatch website of animals suffering in both legal and illegal snares have shown that nothing short of a full ban is needed.

With the Scottish Government currently reviewing snaring legislation, this is a crucial moment for us to demonstrate that the Scottish public wants these cruel traps consigned to history.

March with us

Will you march with us to consign fox hunting and snaring to history?

On Saturday the 29th October from 12:30pm-2pm, we will march down the Royal Mile towards the Scottish Parliament, where we will host a rally with speakers from OneKind, League Against Cruel Sports, Scottish Badgers and MSPs.

We are also excited to have virtual support from an exciting selection of speakers, including celebrities Chris Packham and Peter Egan showing their support of our demonstration.

In addition, we will also have a group of actors posing as a selection of different species of animals in fake snares, and Fergus the Fox making an appearance, who will be marching with us too!

Join us so we can send the strongest possible message that the public wants the Scottish Government to make history and introduce a real ban on fox hunting and snaring.

Support our campaign

If you can’t make the march, there are important ways you can help us get fox hunting and snares banned for good. Here are some simple things you can do to make a difference from home:

Send a letter to the Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Màiri McAllan, to urge the Government to introduce a full snaring ban. We’ve set up a handy template you can use, so it only takes a few moments.

Support our appeal and help fund campaign work like our upcoming march and letter writing action so we can send the strongest possible message to the Scottish Government. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported so far.

Main image: For the Foxes march 2018