Statements on Wild Boar Snares from the
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
vs.
Seven Rebuttals from
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition
1
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: Farmers need metal snares to protect their crops from wild animals.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: The "metal snare trap with continuous pressure spring triggered by a pedal" (wild boar snare) is a highly lethal and indiscriminate hunting trap. The need to protect crops ≠ the necessity of wild boar snares. Farmers need to protect their crops, not catch wild boars and other animals. Methods like fencing and electric fences are more civilized and effective. The focus should be on protecting farmland and crops, not misusing wild boar snares in areas without crops. Currently, wild boar snares are being placed even in national parks and on public lands, clearly for the selfish purpose of capturing animals for other uses, under the guise of crop protection. According to law, legitimate crop protection measures require advance application and subsequent reporting to the competent authority. However, according to the Control Yuan's investigation report, there were "zero" records of trap applications for crop protection permits from 2019 to 2023, indicating that the use of traps for crop protection has reached a state of "no application, no permission, no management." The need for crop protection ≠ the necessity of wild boar snares. Compared to scattered traps, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency should actively explore how to implement more effective protection around farm perimeters using methods like fencing and electric fences to prevent the misuse and harm associated with wild boar snares.
2
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: Indigenous peoples need metal snares for traditional hunting.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: Indigenous traditional cultures have high ecological wisdom regarding nature and mountains. They use natural resources and tools with moderation and great skill, such as locally sourced bamboo weaving, slate, and various ropes made from plant fibers, which can decompose and become part of the earth's cycle, also allowing animals a chance to escape. The "metal snare trap with continuous pressure spring triggered by a pedal" (wild boar snare), which cruelly cuts into animal flesh, has never been a part of indigenous traditional culture. Which ethnic group's rituals and traditional skills cannot be passed down without wild boar snares? Wild boar snares were only introduced in the past decade and are absolutely not traditional to Taiwan's indigenous peoples. The use of wild boar snares should be outright abolished, since neither the users, regardless of who they are, can take responsibility for preventing indiscriminate harm, nor can the authorities effectively manage their misuse and the resulting dangers. Associating indigenous people with the use of cruel and indiscriminately harmful wild boar snares actually stigmatizes both them and their traditional culture.
3
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: Currently, there are no other tools available that are more effective and safe as a replacement.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: The "metal snare trap with continuous pressure spring triggered by a pedal" (wild boar snare) is not an irreplaceable tool. Compared to the scattered distribution of wild boar snares on hillsides, electric fences can provide more comprehensive protection around farmland, effectively preventing animal intrusion without causing deaths to animals or humans. Other countries sell repellents mainly composed of zeolite to block animal intrusion, or use tools that emit sound, strong light, or ultrasonic waves to actively repel animals. In Japan, there are even repellent devices that combine drones, GPS positioning, and ultrasonic waves. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency should strive to reduce conflicts between wild animals and humans in a civilized and progressive way, rather than relying primarily on indiscriminate and cruel devices.
For example, in Japan, trapping is only a small part of agricultural damage prevention. You can (click on the image to read the Chinese translation of this article)
Click on the image to learn more about different methods for preventing agricultural damage other than indiscriminate trapping
4
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: A rash ban on metal snares will not improve the current situation. Instead, it will push the use of metal snares to go underground. People will no longer take the initiative to report animal rescues, and it may even cause those in mountain villages to adopt more harmful prevention and control measures (such as placing poisonous baits), which is detrimental to endangered species conservation. Our goal is effective management of metal snares, but this requires first gaining the trust of farmers and indigenous people who use them.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: The current situation is already the result of the underground use of "metal snare traps with continuous pressure spring triggered by a pedal" (wild boar snares) and a lack of government management. Allowing exceptional use of wild boar snares without effective management has led to indiscriminate and cruel killing of various animals including Formosan black bears, leopard cats, Reeves's muntjacs, Formosan serows, sambar deer, yellow-throated martens, Formosan macaques, stray dogs and cats. Not only has it continuously caused innocent casualties over the years, but it has also allowed the illegal wild game meat industry and sales to flourish, generating the risk of cross-species virus mutations from uninspected wildlife meat products. The abuse of wild boar snares indirectly condones the illegal wild game meat industry. Without imposing a complete ban at the source, this situation perpetuates ongoing harm and risks, leading to an ultimately ungovernable state.
The state has invested significant funds in conserving endangered species, yet the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency keeps allowing wild boar snares to injure and kill protected wildlife, such as black bears, and then claims that banning wild boar snares would negatively impact conservation efforts for endangered species. Isn’t it absurd that species conservation must rely on traps?
Currently, many posts about hunting and selling wild boar meat can be found on social media. The unmanaged situation not only raises concerns about the potential illegal capture and sale of animals but also poses risks of zoonotic diseases.
Effective management ≠ Leading the distribution of traps ≠ Creating problems at the source and unable to manage afterwards
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency's perspective and policy of viewing wild boar snares as a conservation tool is truly incomprehensible. They completely ignore the actual misuse, abuses, and loss of control, revealing their own incompetence and evasion. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency only wants to rationalize the use of cruel wild boar snares. Instead of subsidizing civilized methods like fences and electric barriers, they're advocating for cheap but cruel and highly lethal wild boar snares. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency only wants to win over reporters with ecological compensation, but does not actively prevent the harm caused by traps at the source. As a result, traps continue to be set, protected and innocent animals continue to be injured and killed, and reporting rewards continue to be issued. Is this truly the best conservation policy?
From 2019 to the present, 19 Formosan black bears have fallen victim to wild boar snares according to snare trap rescue reports, and 6 of them unfortunately died. On August 20, a Formosan black bear was found trapped in a noose and died of heat exhaustion in the Beinan Aboriginal Reserve. This marks the 20th recorded victim and the unfortunate 7th black bear to die. When protected wild animals, such as black bears, are caught in traps, people report these incidents to the authorities and receive payments labeled as "animal friendliness" or "ecological compensation." Whoever set the trap and harmed the animal goes uninvestigated, yet they can still receive money under what is termed a "black bear-friendly partnership." Isn’t that absurd? Setting traps irresponsibly can "accidentally" catch leopard cats, "accidentally" catch black bears, and "accidentally" injure hundreds of dogs, causing them to be harmed, maimed, or killed for no reason. Where is the "friendliness" in this? Habitat destruction forces wildlife to gradually approach human activity areas, yet traps are carelessly scattered with no regard for accidental injuries or deaths, and the public even profit from this cycle. Is this truly our best strategy?
It is urgent to eliminate the serious threat of "metal snare traps with continuous pressure spring triggered by a pedal" (wild boar snares) to protected wildlife and other animals, such as dogs and cats. The government should actively promote eco-friendly prevention tools, provide policy subsidies for truly effective agricultural protection measures such as fences and electric barriers, and assist farmers in adopting more civilized and effective tools, rather than enabling poachers to profit under false pretenses. While completely banning wild boar snares at the source, law enforcement should be implemented (such as establishing regular mountain patrol plans), increasing relevant law enforcement personnel, and strengthening local education. Through the joint implementation of multiple supporting measures, we can protect both animals and ecology simultaneously, dismantling the underground market for such cruel tools and the illegal wild game meat industry chain, thereby safeguarding public safety.
These are just the "above-board" records; we believe there are many more victim animals unreported. You can click on the image to view it in full size.
5
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: In recent years, the Forestry and Conservation Agency has developed improved hunting tools with less harm.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: The so-called improved wild boar snares merely have smaller pedals, but they still cause indiscriminate harm just the same. At most, it may only reduce (and not necessarily eliminate) the risk of adult black bears being trapped. For other animals such as leopard cats, masked palm civets, dogs, and cats, it will still cause serious harm. Regardless of the size of the pedal, it is still a pedal-triggered continuous pressure spring metal snare trap (wild boar snare). Even if modifications are made to the wire diameter, pressure adjustment, or limiters, it cannot effectively prevent the accidental capture of other animals. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency's promotional videos use loose nooses to create a misleading impression that these traps are harmless. Furthermore, by leading the distribution or exchange of miniaturized wild boar snares, the Agency is rationalizing the current chaotic use of these traps and inadvertently encouraging poaching. These actions represent a significant regression in the Agency's wildlife protection responsibilities.
6
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: According to the Convention on Biological Diversity and global conservation trends, the rights and interests of local tribes and communities should be respected and considered.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: The Convention on Biological Diversity, whether at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit or the 2022 COP15 in Kunming and Montreal, primarily focuses on protecting nature, not relying on traps to maintain the rights and interests of local tribes and communities. The Convention on Biological Diversity and global conservation trends aim to protect 30% of land and ocean areas by 2030, a goal known as "30x30," in response to the rapid extinction of species on Earth. The 2022 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) "Living Planet Report" warns that "from 1970 to 2018, the average population of wild animal species globally decreased by 69%". Reversing this ecological crisis should be a common goal for all. Indigenous peoples and the general public are vital protectors of biodiversity, and the sustainable use of resources by indigenous people and local communities is premised on "sustainability". Without forest ecology and natural resources, there is no safety. The goals of nature protection and resource conservation cannot be achieved through the widespread use of indiscriminate and harmful traps. Instead, a comprehensive ban on wild boar snares should be implemented to directly contribute to achieving the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Nature is a shared environment where humans coexist with the natural world, not a resource exclusively owned by any particular ethnic group or community. The indigenous people's reverence for a higher power, appreciation for all creations, and the unwritten ecological wisdom embedded in their tribal laws all align closely with the spirit of conserving species diversity. The inheritance of this indigenous ecological wisdom absolutely has nothing to do with wild boar snares. Therefore, promoting wild boar snares that do not align with indigenous wisdom will only lead to the misuse of traps and the emergence of underground markets for wild game meat, creating an ecological disaster driven by short-sighted interests, and accelerating the extinction of endangered protected animals (such as the Formosan black bear), completely violating the Convention on Biological Diversity and global conservation trends.
If the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency ignores the premises and goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and improperly promotes smaller versions of wild boar snares instead, it will reduce the nation's forest ecological resources to a meat industry exclusively benefiting certain private interests. Given the current ungovernable situation that the Agency is unable to manage, along with the ongoing harm to animals, it will only result in indigenous people being wrongly accused of depleting natural resources and harming endangered protected species.
7
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency: The current international trend encourages the use of improved hunting tools to reduce unnecessary harm to animals, rather than imposing a complete ban on metal snares.
Taiwan One Ecology Coalition: Anti-trap actions are taking place all over the world! Many international conservation organizations have long been concerned about the harm of indiscriminate traps to wildlife, and have tried to prevent related illegal trade and the risk of zoonotic diseases, dedicating years to promoting trap removal projects.
In the UK, provisions in the Agricultural (Wales) Act banning the use of traps and glue traps came into effect on October 17, 2023, making the use of snare traps and glue traps illegal. The Scottish Parliament passed an amendment to the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act in March 2024, prohibiting the general public from using snare traps and glue traps (including glue mouse traps), and this amendment was officially announced and became formal law on April 30, 2024.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is also committed to removing these "silent killers of wildlife", patrolling and destroying snares made of any material in the suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa.
Between 2005 and 2019, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) removed 371,856 metal snare traps in 11 protected areas across 5 Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam). They also urged Southeast Asian governments to strengthen legislation against traps, invest more resources to support patrols and monitoring of protected areas, and adopt measures to restrict the purchase, sale, import and export of wildlife species at high risk for zoonotic disease transmission.
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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