An animal welfare charity has welcomed government proposals to ban snares but says action should have been taken sooner.
The Fox Project, in Pembury, Kent, has campaigned against snares for decades, describing the use of the traps as “unnecessary cruelty”.
The proposed ban was included in Labour’s Animal Welfare Strategy published in December 2025, but was absent from last month’s King’s Speech, prompting questions over when it will be introduced.
A ban largely reflects wider public opinion, but the Countryside Alliance said it was “frustrated” by the plans, arguing that so-called “humane cable restraints” were needed to help farmers protect livestock and wildlife.
A snare is a thin wire noose used to catch and restrain animals, most commonly foxes.
Self-locking snares, which continue tightening around an animal’s neck, are already illegal in England, while all types of snares have been banned in Scotland and Wales.