Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3254/91 prohibiting the use of leghold traps in the Community and the introduction into the Community of pelts and manufactured goods of certain wild animal species originating in countries which catch them by means of leghold traps or trapping methods which do not meet international humane trapping standards

The Berne Convention of 19 September 1979 on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (concluded by the European Community by Decision 82/72/EEC) prohibits for certain species the use of all indiscriminate means of capture and killing including traps, if the latter are applied for large-scale or non-selective capture or killing. In accordance with the present Regulation, the use of leghold traps in the Community shall be prohibited. For the present purposes, leghold trap means a device designed to restrain or capture an animal by means of jaws which close tightly upon one or more of the animal s limbs, thereby preventing withdrawal of the limb or limbs from the trap. In addition, article 3 prohibits the introduction into the Community of the pelts of the animal species listed in Annex I as well as the other goods referred to in Annex II.