Owl dies in trap on Queen’s Sandringham estate, leading Chris Packham to call for ban

A protected owl was killed in a spring trap on the Queen’s Sandringham estate, prompting naturalist Chris Packham and others to call for such traps to be banned.  

The bird, of the little owl species, was discovered dead by a member of the public, in a fenn trap – a device designed to kill animals such as squirrels, rats, rabbits and weasels.

The traps are used legally on game-shooting estates because small mammals may catch and eat young pheasants and partridges, reducing the number of game birds available to be shot.

Fenn traps were outlawed for catching stoats in April, but wildlife enthusiasts say they have also seen cats, foxes, hedgehogs, hares, squirrels and other small mammals killed in them.

It is believed this trap was not illegal but was improperly set, resulting in the little owl being caught.  

Little owls are protected by law, and their numbers are declining, with the RSPB saying the UK population fell by about 24 per cent between 1995 and 2008.

A Norfolk police spokeswoman said that no offences were committed, and officers did not investigate, but that the RSPCA gave advice to the head keeper to prevent this happening again.

Packham, the Springwatch and Autumnwatch presenter, told The Independent that using fenn traps to enable intense shooting activity was appalling.

“At a time when we are in a climate and biodiversity emergency losing wildlife unnecessarily is increasingly unacceptable,” he said. “It’s appalling.

“This is the tip of an iceberg – it’s one trap found by one member of the public on one estate. This is going on all over the country, and most are out of sight. There are hundreds of thousands of these traps.”

He said the owl would have suffered enormously after being caught. The bird died in May but was reported to police last week.

“Improperly set, these traps and snares don’t kill quickly. And nothing will happen about this, not because it’s Sandringham but because we will never find out who was responsible.

“This should be extremely embarrassing for the Sandringham estate. If they’re not running their business properly, what sort of signal does it send to set many other estates?” he said.

The traps were a product of unsustainable shooting, he added, and appealed to the royal family to phase out unsustainable shooting.

Up to 60 million non-native pheasants and partridge chicks – or poults - are released into the countryside every year by the shooting industry. Packham and his Wild Justice group are lobbying against the practice, saying it damages native wildlife, flora and fauna.

Packham called for a system of numbering and registering traps so those responsible could be held accountable.

“If a trap was found to have caught something illegally there would be no ambiguity. At the moment cases never go to court because nothing can be proven. But if they were all numbered to an individual, this sort of killing, like the owl, would provide a case instantly.”

He said he had known dippers, hedgehogs and squirrels all caught in fenn traps and the owl death, linked to “intensive, unsustainable, industrial shooting” spoilt the reputation of lead-free, sustainable shooters.

Campaign groups the National Anti-Snaring Campaign (NASC) and the Hunt Investigation Team both called for fenn traps to be banned, saying they were indiscriminate, especially if not concealed inside a tunnel, which would prevent large birds from getting in them.

NASC volunteers last week found more traps around Sandringham.

Simon Wild, of the National Anti-Snaring Campaign, recalled an incident at the royal estate when the Queen was shown into a birdwatching hide to watch wildlife.

He said: “It is clear the Queen is interested in wild birds, and I think she would be horrified that a little owl was accidently killed in one of her traps.  

“All fenn traps on ground level should have been removed by law in April if the UK is to meet its obligations under the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards.”

Catching stoats in fenn traps was banned because the traps were judged to fail International Humane Trapping Standards, designed for fur animals.

A Sandringham Estate spokesperson said: “As a working estate, Sandringham adheres to all the appropriate standards and regulations required.”

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We are opposed to these traps and we advocate the use of non-harmful methods of deterring animals.

"We were very concerned that this poor animal had died in this trap and gave advice to make sure it didn't happen again.”

She said it was an offence to set fenn traps incorrectly and the law required them to be placed in a real or artificial tunnel.

“Those using the traps should be fully aware of the legislation regulating their use and of codes of practice,” she added.