Sandringham Estate responds to Fenn trap complaints by National Anti Snaring Campaign

The Sandringham Estate has defended its use of traps after complaints have been made this month.

Norfolk Police and the RSPCA visited the estate in May after an owl was caught in a Fenn-style trap on the estate near to Flitcham Barns. They decided no action was necessary.

But a social media post by the National Anti Snaring Campaign (NASC) this week claimed that its investigators visited the estate last Tuesday and found dozens of similar Fenn-style traps at ground level.

The post says these traps risk stoat capture, and have been reported to Norfolk Police.

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

It is understood the traps used on the Estate comply with all current regulations and any suggestion otherwise is incorrect.

The NASC campaigns against the sale and manufacture of animal snares in the UK. It was founded following outrage at badger snaring on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex.

The group was alerted to the traps at Sandringham after a member received a telephone call this month from the man who found the dead owl at the estate back in May.