A petition to ban “terrifying” bird traps in Wales has been reviewed by AMs after it collected nearly 2,000 signatures.
Larsen traps are mainly used by gamekeepers who trap magpies and crows as decoy-birds. They originated in Denmark and they are now banned in that country.
Victoria Kragiel, who started the petition, stated birds captured by Larsen traps endure great distress. In her petition she said they are terrorized by predators and illegally left without food and water.
“We have witnessed birds with broken beaks and cut heads where they have tried to escape. We have witnessed brutality, mutilation & maiming where the gamekeeper has cut wing flight feathers to stop the decoy bird from escaping,” she said.
Plaid Cymru AM Rhun ap Iorwerth and member of the petitions committee said the traps sounded “quite horrific” but the group agreed to consult with animal welfare charities before taking the petition further.
The petition is also being backed by campaign group Against Corvid Traps. Simon Wild, founder and director of the group, said: “We want them banned on grounds of being inhumane with no checks ever made to ensure compliance. Prosecutions seem impossible.”
The RSPB is one of the charities the committee has said it will consult.
“We are not against the traps as long as they are used responsibly and in line with best practice,” spokesperson Danny Wyn Griffith told CJS News.
The petition remains under consideration.
