Members of the Senedd joined animal welfare campaigners from the League Against Cruel Sports this week to celebrate a historic vote to ban snares in Wales.

It followed the unanimous passing of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill in the Senedd on Tuesday, June 27 which contained measures to outlaw these “cruel and indiscriminate“ wildlife traps.

Will Morton, head of public affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, said:“The Welsh Government deserves huge credit for banning snares, inherently inhumane traps, which are completely incompatible with high animal welfare standards.

“Wales is leading the way in protecting wildlife from cruelty and we’re calling on the UK and Scottish Governments to follow their lead and ban these brutal devices.”

The attendees included 13 members of the Senedd as well as animal welfare campaigners from across Wales.

Up to 51,000 snares lie hidden in the countryside at any one time according to UK government figures. They are used predominantly by shooting industry gamekeepers on pheasant and partridge shoots to trap wildlife. The research shows almost three quarters of the animals caught are not the intended target species, so these include hares, badgers and people’s pets.

Polling carried out by YouGov in Wales in January 2021 showed 78 per cent of the Welsh public wanted snares to be made illegal.

The ban will come into force two months after receiving royal assent so snares should become illegal in Wales later this year.

Will Morton added: “Today we are celebrating the move to end the cruelty inflicted on animals by the use of barbaric snares, something that will have the support of the vast majority of the Welsh people.

“It’s a fantastic move for animal welfare and we look forward to snares being banned in the rest of the UK soon.”