THE Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA) is to seek discussions with police and government ministers over an escalation of vandalism and interference with legal traps by activists and the public.
Members of the gamekeepers’ representative body are reporting increasing incidences of intentional damage to predator control traps and snares operated as part of their employment.
In recent weeks, legal Fenn traps have been vandalised, rail traps smashed, wires cut and traps left in the open air in Tayside, Perthshire, Angus, Speyside, Grampian, Tomatin and the Great Glen area. In one incident in Angus, 22 traps, approved for legal predator control by Scottish Natural Heritage, were damaged in one afternoon.