Snare-Setters
When a countryman has no gun and little time to go out with a ferret and nets, he often puts down a snare. This is not the best time for snaring because- the grass is high, there are large numbers of immature rabbits about, and they do not begin to range on fixed runs until autumn when food is harder to find. Some men snare - all the year round however, and are not too particular where the snares are set; consequently the setters of snares are thoroughly un- popular with farmers who keep sheep. I have seen a ewe with her foot in a snare, and a sorry sight she was. She had struggled until the wire had cut her to the bone and began to peel the skin. Releasing her was a painful thing because the poor creature bounded and struggled while I tried to loosen the tightly-drawn noose. I have never been sure about the snare being a humane way of catching a rabbit. It is not so quick and painless, even when set by an expert. The speed of the rabbit or hare determines the nature of its death. Sometimes death is a long time coming, and every kick of the victim is another awful step to- its end, that comes when its head is bloated and its eyes forced out of their sockets.
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