Review of snaring for Scottish Government, prepared by Scottish Natural Heritage

2. Scope and Approach of Review

The scope of the Review of Snaring is defined under Section 11F of the Wildlife and Countryside Act as:

11F Snaring: review and report to the Scottish Parliament

(1)The Scottish Ministers must carry out, or secure the carrying out by another person of, a review of the operation and effect of-

(a)section 11 and any orders made under that section (in so far as the section and the orders make provision as regards snaring);

(b)sections 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D and 11E and any orders made under those sections.

(2)A review must be carried out under subsection (1) no later than-

(a)31st December 2016 ("the first review date");

(b)the end of the period of 5 years beginning with the first review date; and

(c)the end of each subsequent period of 5 years.

(3)In carrying out a review under subsection (1), the matters that must be considered include whether in the opinion of the Ministers (or, if the review is being carried out by another person, that person) amendment of this Act or enactment of other legislation is appropriate.

(4)In carrying out a review under subsection (1), the Scottish Ministers (or, if the review is being carried out by another person, that person) must consult such persons and organisations as they consider (or, as the case may be, the other person considers) have an interest in it.

(5)The Scottish Ministers must, as soon as practicable after a review is carried out under subsection (1), lay a report of the review before the Scottish Parliament."

A Review of Snaring Group (Review Group) was established by SNH to oversee the Review of Snaring.

In order to facilitate an objective review of snaring, the Review Group included only key government bodies involved in snaring. The Review Group comprised representatives from Police Scotland (enforcement remit), Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service ( COPFS -prosecution remit), Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture ( SASA -technical remit), Scottish Government ( SG -legislative remit) and SNH (lead).

The Review Group identified three key elements to conducting the Review of Snaring in relation to sections 11 to 11E of the legislation:

1. Assessing efficacy of the legislation (sections 11 and 11B-E of the WCA as amended);

2. Review snare training and assess the effectiveness and compliance with

the administrative procedure for obtaining snaring ID (section 11A of the WCA as amended);

3. Consider any evidence of outstanding animal welfare implications in relation to snaring and whether these are sufficiently addressed through the provisions under section 11 of the WCA as amended.

Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture ( SASA) convened a Scottish Technical Assessment Group (TAG) on Snaring to examine in depth the practical working of the legislation. This report stands independent of but complementary to this review and as such is included in Annex 3. The Review Group are supportive of the work undertaken by TAG.

The methodology adopted in this review is provided in Annex 1.