By William D. Carvalho, Herbert O. B. Duarte, Thaís P. Alencar-Silva, Karen Mustin, Cristina H. Adania, and Luiz M. Rosalino

(A) Injury caused by a metal snare on a puma. (B) The same individual puma was evaluated and treated at the rehabilitation centre of the NGO Associação Mata Ciliar, Jundiaí, Brazil.
Photos Credit: Associação Mata Ciliar (https://mataciliar.org.br/site/).

Read the full paper here

Snares are traps, made of wire or rope, widely used in hunting worldwide, at least in part owing to their simplicity and low-cost. In Brazil, although banned by law, snares are still used, mainly to hunt feral pigs, which are an invasive species. This leads to a negative impact on native animals, including species already at risk of extinction, such as jaguars, maned wolves, and tapirs. This is because snares catch animals indiscriminately, tightening around the animal’s body, causing severe injuries or even death to target and native, non-target animals alike.

To better understand this issue, we collected information from three sources: news articles, YouTube videos, and records from a wildlife rehabilitation centre in São Paulo (NGO Associação Mata Ciliar). We found that the use of snares in Brazil is more widespread than previously thought. Many online videos teach people how to make traps and even show captured animals. These videos, watched by thousands, spread illegal practices. We also saw that many rescued animals arrive at rehabilitation centres badly injured and often cannot survive. This problem is not only about individual animals dying. Large mammals play essential roles in ecosystems: they control prey populations, disperse seeds, and help maintain balance in nature. Losing even one animal in a small population can have lasting effects. On top of that, individual suffering is evident, with reports of mutilations and slow deaths.

What does this mean in practice?
• Stronger enforcement is urgently needed to ensure feral pig control uses only legal methods, such as corrals and cages, which are safer for other species.
• Awareness campaigns should highlight the real impacts of snares and push back against videos that spread illegal hunting techniques.
• Governments, researchers, and society must work together to protect species already threatened by habitat loss and hunting.

In short, snares are not just a problem of illegal hunting, they are a serious threat to Brazil’s biodiversity and to the health of its ecosystems.