DB Snares – Breakaway Code Compliant Fox Snare

This much-touted fox snare was designed by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). The snare must incorporate at the eye as its weakest point a ‘break-away’ of appropriate strength to allow the self-release of stronger non-target animals. The DB Snare is the most popular of the code complaint snares, but is not in widespread use compared to the non-complaint AB Snare.

The GWCT claim that the fox cable restraint is effective at holding foxes but the included breakaway link allows heavier non-target animals to escape easily. The stop is fixed at 26cm (33cm in Irish Regulations) from the eye, which is meant to allow smaller non-target species to escape. The snare is compliant with the advice given in Defra’s Code of Practice on fox snaring.

The Welsh parliament looked into banning snares in 2017, but instead decided in promoting the use of the new breakaway snare in a new Welsh Government Code of Best Practice on the Use of Snare in Fox Control. However, while the claim is that deer and hares can escape because of the stop which is fixed wider than before, our experience is this is not the case.

The weak link is supposed to allow a fully grown badger to escape. In reality this is not occurring. No one can pull it apart with gloved hands, so imagine trying to do it with your neck!

The GWCT state that “The wire must not be rusty, frayed, kinked or damaged in any way.”