Undercover footage obtained by the Green Britain Foundation has prompted the first formal police investigation into suspected illegal snare use since bans were introduced in Wales and Scotland.
The Green Britain Foundation has obtained undercover footage prompting what is believed to be the first formal police investigation in Wales or Scotland into suspected snare use since national bans came into force.
The footage shows individuals checking and setting snares at a stink pit on the edge of Ruabon Grouse Moor, within Llandegla Forest, North Wales. It has been supplied to North Wales Police, who have confirmed that a formal investigation is now underway.
A stink pit is a bait site where carcasses are piled to attract predators towards surrounding snares.
Snares are illegal in Wales (since 2023) and banned in Scotland (since 2024). Offences include both setting a snare and permitting snares to be set on one’s land.
28 June 2025: Live snares documented approximately 20 metres inside the Llandegla Forest boundary, arranged around a stink pit.
30 June – 15 August 2025: Covert cameras record multiple visits by several individuals believed to be engaged in gamekeeping, apparently checking and adjusting snares.
25 July 2025: Carcasses of red-legged partridges logged at the stink pit.
25 August 2025: Police notified; officers attended, documented the scene and removed snares as evidence.
Status: North Wales Police have commenced a formal investigation.
This is a landmark enforcement moment — believed to be the first formal police investigation into suspected snare use in the UK since the bans came into effect in Wales and Scotland. It is an early test of how enforcement mechanisms will work in practice.
Snares are commonly used as so-called “predator control” on shooting estates, intended to maximise grouse and other gamebird numbers for commercial and recreational shooting. However, they are indiscriminate by design, frequently catching non-target wildlife such as badgers, and have even been known to ensnare domestic pets.
“Snares are medieval cruelty. Wales and Scotland banned them for good reason. This footage shows people ignoring the law, continuing to use snares to kill wild animals in support of the bloodsport business. Snares are indiscriminate, killing all kinds of wildlife in the most hideously cruel way.
The police are investigating, and that’s welcome. Landowners are complicit in this — snares are used to kill wildlife in support of bird breeding as part of the business: shooting birds for sport and for money. Labour should make good on its pre-election pledge and ban snares in England — without further delay.”
The location is linked to estates associated with the Church Commissioners for England. GBF is calling for full cooperation and compliance audits across all relevant holdings to ensure that no further offences occur.
While Wales and Scotland have both enacted snare bans, England has yet to introduce equivalent legislation. With workable bans already in place elsewhere in Britain, GBF urges the UK Labour Government to make good on its commitment to outlaw snares in England as a matter of priority.
Footage was obtained by the Green Britain Foundation from independent investigators and supplied to North Wales Police, who have opened a formal investigation.
Guy Ritchie’s Wiltshire estate is under investigation after the Green Britain Foundation submitted evidence of alleged bird flu biosecurity breaches at the Ashcombe shooting estate.
Read MoreMeet the team behind Bowyer’s Wood – exploring rewilding, woodland conservation and the people working with the Green Britain Foundation to make space for nature.
Read MoreThe GBF's Bowyer’s Wood project is welcoming beavers back to East Sussex, helping restore wetlands, support wildlife and demonstrate nature-led land recovery.
Read MoreLaunched in June 2025, Fish Net Zero is the Green Britain Foundation’s new marine conservation programme, recovering abandoned fishing gear, freeing entangled wildlife and protecting marine ecosystems around the UK.
Read More
