Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 17 September 2025.
Tan Dhesi
Chair, Defence Committee, Chair, Defence Committee
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of snares on animal welfare.
Mary Creagh
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Defra recognises many people in this country have concerns about the use of snares.
Free-running snares are currently legal in England and are regulated by law. They must be checked at least once a day and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits the setting of any type of snare in places where they are likely to catch certain non-target animals. Anyone using snares also has a responsibility under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ensure their activities do not cause wild animals or pets any unnecessary suffering.
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation and this included a commitment to bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. Defra is considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Yes0 people think so
No3 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
