Guild of British Molecatchers
So what does the Guild of British Molecatchers stand for?
The clue lies in the Guilds motto,
“Providing welfare for Moles through awareness and control"
In these times of political correctness traditional mole control with kill traps has to be seen as being conducted in a manner that is morally and humanely acceptable to the general public and with a valid reason.
The introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 made people more aware of the legal requirements of any person responsible for the welfare and control of animals.
This applies even to molecatchers who, by the nature of their work are directly responsible for the moles under their control.
The part of the Act that has an influence on a molecatchers work, is that they have to ensure there is no undue stress, pain or suffering caused to the mole in the course of this control. Most people would at first see this as contradictory.
But by insisting that members of the Guild carry out mole control in accordance with the Guilds code of practice, it promotes a more acceptable picture of the work that molecatchers carry out. And more importantly these members can carry out mole control with fewer concerns of the implications of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the risk of prosecution.
The Guild of British Molecatchers code of practice, states amongst other things, checking and inspecting traps at least once a day. This reduces the risk of causing any unnecessary suffering to any mole caught, but not immediately killed due to factors out side the control of the molecatcher. This is not a legal requirement, but is one that is called best practice.
A rabbit, mink, or squirrel spring trap needs to be of an approved type under the regulations of The Pest Act 1954, but a mole spring trap in exempt from these rules, WHY?
A mole trap is covered under the Small Ground Vermin Order 1958. There is no type approval for a mole trap, so any one can produce a mole trap because there are no restrictions over the design or build quality. And as already stated there is no legal requirement to check mole traps daily.
Interesting, advice leaflets now being produced by Defra and Natural England which state “Any mole caught in a trap becomes a Protected Animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, making it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering.
Such traps therefore need to be visited at least once per day”
The problem here arises from the fact that the Law and Best Practices are two different things. There is no legal requirement to daily check a spring kill trap, whether it’s approved or not, but Best Practice dictates that they should be checked at least once a day, preferably twice and live catch cage traps to be checked more frequently. But causing unnecessary pain and suffering is an offence and liable to prosecution under the AWA 2006, so just how does a molecatcher or any trapper work without putting themselves on the wrong side of the law?
The only solution at the present time is to ensure Best Practices are followed to show that you are doing all that is practically possible to reduce any unnecessary suffering caused by factors outside of your control. Keeping a record of all work visits is one way of providing evidence that you are following Best Practices, should the need arise.
Defra’s answer to these issues, especially on trap inspection intervals is to state that it is for the courts to decide. They have however decided that a mole trap has a default use of 20 operations, after which it should be discarded. How can they decide upon a default number of operations when there are no controls over the design, type, build quality or materials used? Or how often it should be checked. Even the best quality, most powerful humane trap will soon corrode and seize up if set and left in damp ground for a week at a time before it is checked.
By daily trap checking having placing a trap in the correct location, a skilled and experienced molecatcher will have normally caught the mole within 24 hours. Traps can therefore be moved to another location so maximising the use of each trap and prolong it’s useful working life.
There are other benefits to daily trap inspections as well. By removing a garden mole overnight or the next day, a garden or lawn is only out of bounds to inquisitive children and small pets for a very short period. I have often been told by new domestic clients of traps being left uncovered and unchecked by previous molecatchers and pest controllers,in their gardens for up to a week at a time. With instructions to call the molecatcher if any traps have sprung and also to keep pets and children out of the garden. The longest time reported to me was 3 months before the traps were checked and removed.
Some molecatchers might argue that daily trap inspections are not economically viable and only creates more travelling, this is true ONLY if you don’t have the necessary skills, experience and knowledge to catch moles quickly and efficiently in the first place.
If you find and suspect a main run you will normally only catch one mole at a time, other moles avoiding the run until the caught mole has been removed and the trap reset. By daily trap inspections you can decide on the probability of another catch and reset the trap accordingly. It is possible to catch up to 3 moles a day from the same trap in the same run if you’re around to check the trap through out the day.
If you catch moles for a living then this is where daily trap checks and inspections really benefit. You require fewer traps to work with, there is less chance of losing, forgetting or having traps stolen because it’s easier to recall the previous days work rather than last weeks. And you should have caught more moles. On farm land a lot can happen in a few days, stock can be turned out, slurry spread over your traps and markers, grass can grow very quickly in spring time hiding traps.
Remember if you have need of a molecatcher and want to ensure that the work is carried out in the most humane manner possible with full respect for the welfare of the mole and in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006, just ask the molecatcher when they will return to check their traps. The next day or next week, the choice is then yours to make.
If you appreciate and understand that in certain situations and locations mole control measures are required and you also have a genuine interest and respect for our countryside, environment and our wild life, then you only have one option:
Choose an Accredited Member of The Guild Of British Molecatchers.
A full list of Accredited Guild Molecatchers can be found at the new accredited molecatcher directory provided by Country Moles, web site www.countrymoles.co.uk
If you require more information on any issues raised on this page, please contact me HERE or visit The Guild Of British Molecatchers, or my other web site Lancashire Mole Control.