Badger dies in snare in Surrey

We have received pictures from Surrey Badger Group showing a badger snared in March 2004 which was found by Woodland Trust volunteers near Abinger Hammer.

The snare was set on a pole and had been dragged from an unknown distance before the badger died. This type of unanchored snare is illegal because it is likely to cause bodily injury to a fox, let alone a badger. However, when the League Against Cruel Sports exposed hundreds of snares set on similar poles at Llangybi, Wales, a press officer from the RSPCA told ‘Wales on Sunday’, drag pole snares were not illegal!

We find about 20% of all snares are set like this, and such quotes from the RSPCA are misleading.