Veterinarian shares his insights on snaring

He told the guests that although many animals can shake, scrape, or bite off a snare, many roam around with the snares around their necks. “The increase of snaring is alarming, especially on game trails or near water where animals pass through,” he said. Snares vary depending on what the poacher targets, he said. “It is difficult to catch the poachers as there are no fingerprints on the traps.” He said the traps are well disguised with bushes around them.

“They make it into a funnel shape so that the animals walk into it as they see leaves to eat,” said Gazendam. Smaller snares are more frequent as the catch rate is higher. “What we have seen more and more is that they put bait in the middle, especially if they are trapping carnivores; the animals will have to pass through the snares to get to the bait and get trapped,” he added.

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“Many of these cases are quite gruesome, and it is tough to treat. In many cases, the limbs have been cut off by the snare.” He said the harvesting of bush meat is the main reason for snaring. “There has also been quite an increase in commercial poaching where the meat is sold; it is not only for the poacher to consume. Another reason is for traditional medicine practices,” he said.

He added that poachers forget where they install snares, thus many animals are found decomposed. He said trapped animals mostly die through strangulation. “If the animal manages to break free, it will be roaming around with the snare becoming tighter over time and hard to remove.” He said to treat a snared animal, it has to be immobilised. “Often, they have muscle trauma, and we have to think carefully about how to treat them,” he concluded.