Snare trap poaching is the biggest killer of iconic wildlife in Southern Africa and responsible for the death of 10’s of thousands of animals each year. The trap is set down to ensnare wildlife for the bushmeat trade; it is a tragic and indiscriminate killer of all animals including elephant, lion, leopard, giraffe, and wild dog. 

The deadly wire is turned into a noose with one end fixed in place, the other end is left as an open circle for a passing animal to walk through. When snagged the trap closes around its victim maiming and killing them in a cruel and brutal way. The traps are hidden around watering holes or well-worn animal paths where the chances of harming wildlife is maximized.

We educate visiting guests on how these traps work when they visit our Shop Less Ordinary in the South Luangwa, Zambia.

Snare wire is invariably stolen from cables, telephone wires and fencing; each piece can be different in thickness, strength and malleability. Whilst the metal can vary it is mainly a metal alloy such as stainless steel.

At our workshop we spend hours sorting the cut up snare trap sticks for purpose. Some are allocated for hammering, some coiling, and others for shaping.

There is no manual about how to work with snare wire; instead we have become pioneers in this unique field. Snare wire is a tough material and impossible to manipulate with standard jewelry making tools. Instead we have researched solutions in the building trade. We have broken thousands of hammers and 100s of thousands of drill bits and built our arm muscles to achieve our aims!

We work hard to turn this awful wire into wearable art. Each snare bead has to be sanded with at least 3 separate types of tools before we incorporate it into our unique designs.

When guests visit our Shop Less Ordinary in the South Luangwa they can watch our team perform this extraordinary work. Click here to learn more.