Urgent notice to check all HCRs and traps

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We urge our keeper members to show vigilance when going about their daily work checking traps and HCRs. Today, 24 March, we were alerted by Derbyshire police that a gamekeeper had reported a case of criminal damage to his Humane Cable Restraints (HCRs). The HCRs were set legally, and in accordance with the current code of best practice. 

While checking his HCRs, the keeper came across one that was missing, with no sign that anything had been caught. He inspected the anchor and discovered that the quick link fastening was still in place, but the wire had been cut below ground level and out of sight. He checked the rest of the HCRs and found that they had all been cut in the same way.

HCRs are a legal method of fox control and significant steps have been made to improve operator standard. The fact that HCRs have been developed to a standard above the Agreement for Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) shows our need to keep the HCR in the modern land manager’s toolbox. It is an important piece of equipment to control foxes where it is not suitable or safe to use another method, such as shooting.

Whoever cut these HCRs and left them in situ as if they were still set obviously has no regards whatsoever for animal welfare. It is highly likely that as a direct result of this act, there is a fox running around the countryside with a loop hanging around its neck which could get tangled up.

The consequences could be disastrous both for the fox, who suffers a long death when it gets tangled up with no one to dispatch it quickly and humanely, and secondly for gamekeepers more widely.

The officer who notified us of the issue was concerned firstly about the animal welfare issue of a fox with a HCR hanging around its neck, but also in their own words, “this could only have been done to portray the gamekeepers in a bad light”.

The keeper was praised for reporting the situation, and we urge all of you to firsly check your own HCRs, and to report any similar issues if they do occur.

Make sure that you carry out all HCR operations under the latest HCR guidance. Don't just check that the snare is still there and is set, but make sure that it is still attached to the anchor. If you see or suspect that your HCR or any trap that is under your control has been damaged or stolen, report it to the police straight away, making sure you get a crime reference number.

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation: The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) represents the gamekeepers of England and Wales. The NGO defends and promotes gamekeeping and gamekeepers and works to ensure high standards throughout the profession. The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation was founded in 1997 by a group of gamekeepers who felt that keepering was threatened by public misunderstanding and poor representation. Today, the organisation has around 13,000 members.
www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk