'Stink pits' filled with rotting carcasses blamed for decline in Sheffield's mountain hares

Thousands of people have backed a petition to ban the practice, used by gamekeepers to trap creatures preying on grouse and other game.

The holes are filled with the remains of discarded game birds and other animals to lure foxes and other predators to areas where snares have been laid.

It believes the pits - which have been spotted on the Moscar estate, near Wyming Brook, and at Strines, near Bradfield - are linked to a sharp drop in the population of mountain hares on moors around Sheffield.

The practice is legal but a petition launched by the trust to get it banned has been signed more than 3,000 times, with people condemning the pits as 'horrific and inhumane'.

"They're trying to get predators but there's an immense amount of snares and we've seen mountain hares and other birds and wildlife trapped there.

"We're particularly concerned about the impact on mountain hares, which is a very appreciated animal only found in the Peak District and Scotland, after recent surveys have shown a significant decline in sightings.

The petition, which the trust plans to present to environment secretary Michael Gove, is at you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ban-the-use-of-stink-pits-in-england.

It is part of a wider drive by the charity to protect the Sheffield moors, which it says support important wildlife but are under threat due to what it describes as 'increasingly intensive moorland management' for grouse shooting.

The Star has contacted the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, who own the Moscar estate, and the BASC.