I just found this on the BBC's website. It's spoilt my day.

Yeah, nasty things pole traps. They are illegal by the way.

Poor bird! What exactly is a pole trap?

A pole trap is a particularly nasty kind of snare that is fixed to the top of a fence post where birds like buzzards are likely to perch and it catches them by the leg when they land. Extememly barbaric and as paul says illegal. I hope they catch the person responsible for this.

I hope they do. Why exactly do they catch the Buzzards and other birds of prey?

A Pole trap is an illegal 'Gin Trap' placed on the top of a post and baited. They were (and often still are!) used by Gamekeepers to catch birds of prey that they blamed for killing their pheasant chicks. Amazingly someone is selling a pair of Gin Traps on e-bay!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/pair-of-old-traps-...dZViewItem

They may be 'old' but still look in good working order to me!

Yes, unfortunately