Yes, I appreciate that the song title is a pun on Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire but, as you can see from the photo, there is a serious and grizzly business behind this song.
The fox in the picture has been snared. Throttled to death by a ring of wire. Snares are laid on shooting estates by gamekeepers in an attempt to eliminate predators who might prey on their birds. There is a curious situation in Britain as some types of snares are legal whilst others are not. They do have one thing in common, however; they are horrific silent killers; leaving their victims to die agonisingly in a protracted, hideous death. And the point of all this? Cash!
Shooting gamebirds in Britain is big business. We are talking billions of pounds a year. Shooters llike to portray their "sport" as a traditional part of the countryside. Some friends out for a stroll, simply bagging a few wild birds to eat. Birds that are wild and have lived a normal, free wild bird life up until their death. Absolutely not the case. The majority of pheasants, for instance, are reared in their thousands in cramped, battery cages, often mutilating each other by pecking to overcome their stress. Debeaking is carried out, using a hot, metal clipper on young chicks. When old enough they are transferred to pens, free to come and go, where food is provided for them during the shooting season, after which, it is abruptly stopped leaving the remaining birds unable to fend for themselves. These battery reared pheasants are bagged in their hundreds and thousands at every shoot, providing hundreds and thousands (pounds that is) to the landowner. This is no traditional, part of country life.
This brings us back to the snares. This mass slaughter is the reason for their existence. Snares are also indiscriminate, apart from being cruel. It is not just "pest" species, such as the above unfortunate fox that are trapped. Protected species such as badgers, otters and birds of prey; even domestic pets have their lives ended in the same way. Sometimes an animal may struggle free, severely injuring itself in the process. There are instances where creatures found dead in a snare show evidence of having been trapped more than once.
There is a campaign, which has the support of many Members of Parliament, amongst others to have snares of all types banned. Please take a moment to have a look at the League Against Cruel Sports website where you can sign a petition calling for the abolition of snares and find many other ways of getting rid of this silent killer in the countryside.
20.02.2008
The new SNP Scottish government minister, Michael Russell, had a great chance to prove his party were different on animal welfare. They are not and caved in to the pressure of the big business grouse industry and others and refused to ban snares in Scotland. Pressure has to be kept on him and the Scottish government, especially in view of their wafer thin majority of one. It is also not impossible that the UK government may eventually have more guts and acknowledge overwhelming public opinion for a ban although it has to be said that the Labour Party are as much pro shooting as any other. Go to www.bansnares.com for up to date info.
19.7.2008 - 27.7.2008
Snare Awareness Week - please contact the League Against Cruel Sports for detail.
