The cruel reality of keepers’ ‘vermin’ traps

Sir, – It was with mixed feelings that I read of legally set traps being vandalised and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association’s concern.

I can appreciate the frustration of the keepers attempting to control vermin by these means. I am curious though, to understand how this problem lies, at least in part, at the feet of “wildlife activists”.

Can someone from the SGA explain what this term means? The inference is that out there on our uplands are a bunch of vigilantes hell bent on trap destruction!

As a regular walker of the Angus glens I am all too familiar with fenn traps, crow traps and snares. Some estates have a staggering amount of fenn traps and, even when legally set, can trap and kill nonspecific wildlife like birds and rabbits.

Snares are a horrific way to control vermin.

Deer, badgers, sometimes cats can be caught in these devilish devices and death can be slow and painful.

In recent years in the Angus glens snares have been left unchecked and fenn traps used illegally. So it is no surprise people take exception to some of the methods employed to keep a check on vermin. Vermin being not just stoats, weasels and foxes but can also include our iconic mountain hare and ravens.

If we rid our uplands of traps then nature would find its own balance. It always has. David Mitchell. 6 Henry Street, Kirriemuir.

Even legally set traps can catch and kill animals that are not vermin, such as deer.