Why Scottish Government snaring proposals will exacerbate nature crisis - Ross Ewing

It is, I confess, one of the reasons why I do not own a cat, although I am assured their attributes are both numerous and considerable.

Grim as ‘the prey display’ might be, the consequences are at least temporary – and easily resolved by a hesitant extraction operation to the outside world. In other walks of life, however, predation can mean the difference between making a living and not.

Take sheep farming - a prime example. Young lambs are especially vulnerable to predation by meso-predators like foxes. Their impacts can be utterly devastating, not just for the lamb (whose demise will be less than humane), but for the farmer too. Business viability, mental health and wellbeing all stand to suffer if predation pressure is left unchecked.

Of course, managing predation is a contentious business in and of itself. In Scotland, it is us – the humans – that are the only mechanism through which species like fox can be controlled, because they have no ‘natural’ predators in the animal world.

We are fortunate that land managers across Scotland are doing their bit to manage predation pressure. Indeed, it is not just sheep that come to benefit from this work, but an assemblage of rare wildlife – particularly ground nesting birds, which are especially vulnerable during the breeding season.

Successive scientific studies have demonstrated how effective predator control improves the breeding success of these birds, which include lapwing, golden plover, curlew, red grouse, meadow pipit, merlin, snipe and hen harrier. Research has also shown quite definitively what happens when predation is left unchecked, with declines of up to 81 per cent recorded in populations of lapwing and golden plover.

In short, predation constitutes a monumental and enduring challenge when it comes to confronting biodiversity loss, as well as enabling food production across Scotland. And yet, the Scottish Government seem intent on systematically dismantling the toolkit for effective predator control.

Last week we learned that Ministers intend to ban the use of snares in Scotland – a move which follows the recent passage of the Hunting with Dogs Act 2023, which makes it an offence to use more than two dogs to flush foxes from cover to waiting guns, except under licence in exceptional circumstances.

The intention to ban snares constitutes a further erosion of a land manager’s ability to control foxes, rendering shooting the only remaining option. Of course, shooting is not always practical nor possible – such can be the thickness of cover – which means that it will be outright impossible to manage predation in some areas.

The decision to ban snares is predicated on emotion rather than science. Ministers have folded to pressure from animal rights activists in possession of gruesome imagery of animals caught in illegal snares.

Now don’t get me wrong – I abhor illegal snare use as much as anyone. But it is also the case that such incidents are predominantly confined to illicit snare operators (mainly poachers) who have not completed the requisite training. Legal operators, by comparison, complete training to become accredited and bear a personal ID number on their snares. The vast majority are both professional and accountable.

Indeed, such is the commitment of the legal operators to high professional standards, land managers have actually campaigned for snares to be replaced by humane cable restraints (HCRs), which are differentiated from conventional snares in three ways. They have two swivels, a breakaway device and a stop crimped at 26cm from the running eye – all of which help to protect animal welfare and reduce the possibility of non-target catch.

If HCRs were retained under licence for use by trained and competent persons, it would provide land managers with a tool they so desperately need to protect biodiversity and livestock interests. It would also further differentiate the professionals from the criminals, whose illicit practices have no place in modern society.

Land managers unequivocally understand that we are in a biodiversity crisis, and that the onus is on all of us to do our bit to restore nature. Indeed, land managers see themselves as key delivery partners in delivering biodiversity net-gains. But that can only happen if those who work the land are given the tools to do the job. It cannot be right that responsible operators are punished for the actions of a depraved minority.

The intention to ban snaring – with no clear provision for the retention of HCRs – constitutes a complete abdication of responsibility on the part of the Scottish Government to grip this nature emergency in a meaningful way. In less than a year, Ministers will have systematically eroded two thirds of the toolkit for effective predator control.

Predation pressure will not manage itself, and tying one arm behind the back of the land management community will actively detract from the commendable ambition to reverse biodiversity loss.

Let us not waste this opportunity. For the sake of nature and our rural economy, the Scottish Government needs to take stock and listen to land managers before it is too late.

Ross Ewing is the Director of Moorland at Scottish Land and Estates - a membership organisation for landowners, rural businesses and rural professionals.