Wails in the forests:
The tragedy of illegal and rampant hunting of animals with wild boar snares
Introduction to the wild boar snare—a cruel trap
This trap consists of a metal wire noose with a spring device. When animals step on the trigger plate, the spring mechanism will be activated to quickly tighten the metal snare and firmly grip the animal's limb. The more the animal struggles to escape, the tighter the snare gets, making it impossible for the animal to get away and even tearing off their limbs. These indiscriminate traps cannot predict what animals they will harm! It's either death or mutilation! They continuously cause dogs, cats, and protected species (such as Formosan black bears, macaques, muntjacs, or pangolins) to lose their paws or their lives!
The government ignores the loopholes existing in the Animal Protection Act
In Taiwan, although the Animal Protection Act bans the use of snares, manufacture and selling are still allowed. These traps are sold everywhere through the internet and local stores. The Nature Conservation Agency, MOA, as the top department of animal protection in Taiwan, lacks management of illegal hunting, inhumane traps, and private slaughter of wild animals. All these years, the Nature Conservation Agency has failed to conduct a thorough review, develop comprehensive policies, establish sound systems, and implement supporting management measures. Under the distorted and disguised pretexts of indigenous hunting rights and agricultural loss prevention, they have allowed such cruel traps to continuously harm various animals across Taiwan. This has encouraged the rampant economic industry chain of selling hunting tools and wild animal meat products for many years.
Images of animals harmed by wild boar traps in Taiwan, including protected wildlife species,
common wildlife species, as well as dogs and cats
Based on 5 major reasons, we strongly urge amending the law to completely ban wild boar snares
1.Wild boar snares indiscriminately trap all kinds of animals, including humans
Snares indiscriminately capture not only wild boars but also other wildlife, leading to tragic deaths of black bears, leopard cats, muntjacs, serows, sambar deer, yellow-throated martens, macaques, and even stray dogs and cats. Trapped animals suffer unnecessarily, enduring thirst, blood loss, and starvation before ultimately perishing. Even if rescued, most require limb amputation, severely compromising their ability to survive in the wild. These traps pose a danger to humans as well, with reported incidents of hikers becoming ensnared. While people can often free themselves, animals remain helplessly trapped. Since 2022, 18 Formosan Black Bears have been reported caught in snares, with five fatalities.
In 2020, a protected Formosan black bear was trapped by a wild boar trap.
Dogs and cats are also common victims of wild boar trap
2.Rampant industry chain of illegally poached wildlife meat products
Currently, in addition to physical wild game and mountain produce stores, various social media platforms and e-commerce websites are selling illegally slaughtered and distributed meat, including uninspected wildlife meat for consumption. These platforms often advertise fresh, live animals, available for immediate order, slaughter, and home delivery via frozen shipping, creating a thriving market economy chain for wildlife meat. Wildlife, which should be actively protected by law, has become an economic commodity for unscrupulous hunters seeking illegal private profit. After the ban on steel traps, the primary method for capturing wildlife has shifted to wild boar snares due to their low cost and ease of use. If the use of wild boar snares is not comprehensively banned at the source, it will be difficult to eradicate the illegal wildlife meat market economy chain.
On social media in Taiwan, posts about the illegal hunting, sale, and distribution of wild boar meat that hasn't undergone proper inspection can often be seen.
3.The Proliferation of Wild Game and Capture-Slaughter Practices Raise Concerns About Cross-Species Virus Transmission and Human Pandemics
In addition to zoonotic diseases, with species like ferret badgers and masked palm civets serving as rabies virus hosts, high-risk cross-species viruses (such as SARS, MERS, COVID-19) likely originated from human contact with the carcasses of slaughtered wild animals for consumption. During the capture process, fur, blood, and bodily fluids on traps can also serve as transmission vectors. The illegal slaughter and sale of uninspected wildlife meat increases the chances of cross-species fluid contact between humans and wild animals, potentially leading to future outbreaks of new cross-species viruses.
4.The improved boar snare is merely a smaller version of the original, with equally powerful indiscriminate killing potential
The Nature Conservation Agency has launched “Improved snares,” but these traps remain indiscriminate and destructive to wildlife. Despite the modifications, these snares still cannot prevent the accidental capture of non-target species. By distributing or exchanging these improved snares, the Nature Conservation Agency is essentially legitimizing the existing misuse of boar snares and encouraging illegal poaching, which is a significant step backward. In consideration of the balance between wildlife conservation and the prevention of agricultural damage, the Nature Conservation Agency should subsidize measures such as electric fences, sound and light deterrent devices to better align with the Wildlife Conservation Act.
The Nature Conservation Agency launched
“Improved snares”,
Improved wild boar snares and
typical wild boar snares
are both cruel
5. A Comprehensive Ban on Cruel Traps Aligns with Global Trends
Investigations by the UK government indicate that their traps only have a 25% success rate in capturing the target species, while the other 75% result in "bycatch." Annually, these traps can capture up to 1.7 million animals. Many international conservation organizations have long been aware of the indiscriminate harm these traps cause to wildlife and have been working to halt related illegal trade and the risks of zoonotic diseases. They have been advocating for the removal of traps for many years. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) removed 371,856 metal snare traps across 11 protected areas in five Southeast Asian countries between 2005 and 2019. In Europe, countries like Estonia, Denmark, and Hungary have banned the use of snares as a hunting method, and the Czech Republic has passed animal protection laws prohibiting the use of metal snares. A comprehensive ban on wild boar snares aligns with global trends and would elevate Taiwan to the ranks of civilized nations that respect life and care for animal welfare.
Call To Action
Join us in writing to the Ministry of Agriculture, urging them to address this issue by illegalizing the manufacture and sale of boar snares to keep pace with civilized progress!
You may copy and send the following template to the Ministry of Agriculture
Dear Ministry of Agriculture,
I am writing this letter in hopes that you will take action against the rampant use of boar traps and amend the law to completely ban the manufacture and sale of such traps.
"Boar snares (snares)" indiscriminately capture animals, causing immense suffering and posing life-threatening risks to wildlife and stray cats and dogs. These traps often result in animals losing limbs or dying painfully due to the inability to be rescued in time. What is more heartbreaking is that these traps are often irresponsibly left in the wild, causing severe negative impacts on the ecological environment, regardless of their intended purpose or actual effects.
Although the law has prohibited the use of boar snares, the lack of explicit prohibition on their manufacture and sale has allowed these traps to continue circulating in the market. They are sold everywhere on e-commerce platforms and in physical stores across Taiwan. These indiscriminate traps can harm any animal, leading to either death or severe injury! They continuously cause mutilation or death to dogs, cats, and protected species such as Formosan black bears, macaques, Reeves's muntjacs, or pangolins. According to statistics, over the past four years, 16 Formosan black bears have been caught by boar traps, with five of them dying as a result.
In addition to directly harming animals, snares also fuel the illegal trade of wild animal meat. I believe that wildlife should be respected and protected. Furthermore, improved hunting devices can still cause significant harm to wildlife, and the Ministry of Agriculture should not promote such cruel tools.
We earnestly request that the Ministry of Agriculture strengthen the regulation of boar traps at both legislative and enforcement levels, completely banning the manufacture and sale of these traps, and promote more humane and effective wildlife protection measures:
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Explicitly prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of boar snares to curb their circulation from the source.
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Strengthen law enforcement and impose strict penalties on those who illegally use boar traps.
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Promote alternative control measures to farmers, such as the use of electric fencing and sound-light deterrent devices, to reduce harm to wildlife.
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Increase public awareness and education to enhance understanding and responsibility for wildlife protection.
I hope the Ministry of Agriculture will take this issue seriously and take proactive actions to protect our precious wildlife resources. Do not let Taiwan be shamed as a cruel country; instead, uphold Taiwan's image as a civilized nation that respects life and cares for animal welfare.
[Your Full Name]
[Your Email Address]
[Date Year/Month/Day]
About Us
We are a voluntary organization formed by a group of people in Taiwan who are concerned about animal welfare and rights. For many years, cruel traps have caused countless animals to lose limbs, suffer injuries, and die. We call on the international community to pay attention to the dangers of cruel traps, promote legal amendments to completely ban snare traps, and end this cruelty!
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