Snares are cruel and can catch any poor animal that happens to go near one, leaving it to slowly die an agonising death. They MUST be banned to stop more suffering to the wildlife, like poor "Squire" who spent TWO MONTHS trapped in one.
HORRIFIC pictures show how a cat was nearly sliced in half after living with a cruel snare wrapped around it for almost two months.
Mary Strachan made the grisly discovery after the poor puss began coming to her home in Ardersier, near Inverness, for food.
Council worker Mary, 48, said: "He was a very scared animal and wouldn't let anyone near him.
"It took about a week to trap him.
"When I got him I didn't realise how bad it was – not until I saw the pictures on social media and then I burst into tears."
The black and white cat, which has been named Squire, is now being cared for at Inverness Cat Rescue after a 30-minute procedure to remove the trap.
Images show the snare – which is a loop of wire used to trap animals – tightly wound around the animal's middle, leaving it with a deep wound and permanently pinched waist.
Inverness Cat Rescue owner Heather Swinton Raven said the animal, who she estimates is around two or three years old, had been through an "horrific" ordeal.
Heather, 62, said: "The vet estimates the snare had been around him for eight weeks and said he was lucky to be alive.
"If it had got caught it would have just got tighter and tighter where he pulled on it."
Heather continued: "He's got a deep cut around his tummy where the wire dug into his flesh but thankfully he didn't need stitches.
"He was given an anaesthetic and the wire was removed.
"Apart from that he was in a very good condition."
She added: "I expect he must have been in a lot of pain – there's no two ways about it – but cats don't give much away.
"They don't have an expression on their face or a way of telling you.
"I expect he must have learned to live with the pain."
Heather, from Inverness, said Squire is now doing well and is expected to make a full recovery – but he will always have a pinched waistline.
She said there's a chance his real owner will come forward now but if not Squire will be re-homed.
