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Snared badger suffers horrific injuries
03 September 2004 ICABS was disgusted to view images of yet another badger snaring incident. While it has yet to be confirmed the source of the snare in question, it's the latest example of an ongoing assault on Ireland's protected badger species - by both heartless thugs and the Department of Agriculture's so-called "snaring operatives". The badger (pictured below) was rescued earlier this year by Limerick Animal Welfare after they received a call from a member of the public who spotted the animal lying motionless on a river bank. Members of the group rushed to the site and noticed "odd bits of wire" sticking out from the sides of the badger. It became clear that the animal was caught in a snare. After much effort, the wire snare was freed from its base in the ground and the badger was carefully transferred into a cage. With the snare still painfully encircling her body just below the front arm pits, the badger was taken to a vet in Limerick. The vet was notified that the animal was on the way so he was ready to act swiftly. "The vet sedated the badger gently and then removed the snare," outlined a Limerick Animal Welfare spokesperson. "Imagine our horror when he turned the badger over to reveal the horrific wounds underneath. The wire had dug into her by more than an inch. The photograph we took shows the badger under sedation at the veterinary surgery." "Everyone who saw the badger in the vet's was appalled at the idea that someone could leave an animal in a snare to suffer a lingering death," he added. Miraculously, this badger survived the snaring ordeal. The vet sewed up the wound and within four days it had healed considerably. Six days after the animal was rescued, Limerick Animal Welfare returned her to the wild. Who set this snare which caused such horrific injuries? Was it a heartless thug acting illegally or was it part of the Department of Agriculture's badger cull which has so far claimed the lives of an estimated 50,000 badgers nationwide? From photographic evidence in our possession, ICABS knows that badgers suffer injuries and die in Department snares. One disturbing photo shows a dead badger lying next to a tree. The animal's struggles to escape were futile - he was found with the snare tightly wound around his body. The tree trunk to which the snare had been attached was covered in claw marks where the badger had tried to scratch his way to freedom. This is in stark contrast to claims by the Department of Agriculture that the snares themselves do not hurt the badgers. Incredibly, they maintain that the snares merely hold the badger in place until a "snaring operative" arrives to shoot it. A Department snarer interviewed on RTE's Ear to the Ground programme made the astonishing claim that badgers caught in snares remain "very, very calm". Asked if the badger will sit in the snare "fairly comfortably", the snarer replied: "He will, yes." Few were convinced by this nonsense, we suspect. Important: If you spot a snare in the countryside, cut the loop to ensure that a badger does not get caught in it. Please report the location of snares to ICABS. If you see a badger or other animal dead in a snare, please take a photograph and send it to us. With your help, we will continue to expose the cruelty of both legal and illegal snares in Ireland.
More Information: Badger Snaring
To find out what you can do to help save badgers from the Department of Agriculture's mass slaughter, please Click Here. For more information on badgers and the campaign to protect them, please visit the website of Badgerwatch Ireland Latest News - Badger Snaring
Animal Voice Newsletter - Summer 2004 Edition (30 July 2004)
Badger Snaring Gallery Visit the Badger Snaring Gallery to view images of badgers killed by the Department of Agriculture as part of their so-called TB Eradication Scheme. An estimated 50,000 badgers have been killed so far as part of this scheme which has been described as "slaughter masquerading as science". Send the Minister for Agriculture a campaign postcard ICABS has created a "Stop the Badger Snaring Slaughter" campaign postcard. If you would like to send one to the Minister for Agriculture, please Contact Us now. If you have friends who wish to join this protest by sending in a card, please specify how many cards you require. You may also print out the Campaign Postcard and send it to the Minister.
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