Police are hunting trespassers who loosened a snare containing a trapped fox on land at Holmfirth.
Wildlife officers said the interference in the legally-placed snare had resulted in the fox becoming entangled in a fence and suffering a slow and painful death.
The snare had been placed on land in a project approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in order to reduce predators of protected birds such as curlews and lapwings.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said the incident on November 9 was being treated as aggravated trespass.
The spokesman added: “Whilst appreciating that many people will have different views about snares, this occurred on a DEFRA-approved project, to reduce predators of protected birds.
“The snares were legally set and would have held the animal until it could be humanely dispatched.”
The snares are checked daily, the spokesman added.
If anyone has any information about this incident please call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
After the force’s wildlife crime officer posted an appeal on Facebook, several people complained that snares were “cruel” and “unjust.”
One person said: “If you want to keep numbers of foxes down there are less cruel ways of achieving this.”
Another said: “Well done that person who loosened the snare. Shame the outcome wasn’t better for the poor fox.”
