Wildlife // Campaigns Against Cruelty to Wildlife
Glue Traps
Glue traps are without a doubt one of the cruelest methods of killing animals that exists today. These hideous devices consist of pieces of cardboard, fiberboard, or plastic coated with a sticky adhesive designed to capture any small animal who wanders across the surface of it. Glue-trap manufacturers generally direct consumers to throw animals away along with the trap, leaving the animals to suffer for days until they finally die of starvation or dehydration—a cruel death if ever there was one!
If you encounter an animal stuck to a glue trap, pour a small amount of any kind of cooking or baby oil onto the parts of the animal that are stuck and gently work the animal free. If you cannot remove the animal from the trap, please locate and contact a local veterinarian or wildlife rehabilitator for assistance or call PETA at 757-434-6285 for guidance.
Trapped rodents and other animals suffer immeasurably during the days that it takes for them to die. Glue traps rip patches of skin, fur, and feathers off the animals’ bodies as they struggle to escape, and many animals even chew off their own legs trying to free themselves. A few of the “luckier” animals get their noses and mouths or beaks stuck in the glue and suffocate, but even that takes hours.
The potential for harm extends far beyond the needless suffering that animals such as mice and rats endure when they are captured in these cruel traps. Glue traps are completely indiscriminate, capturing not only rats and mice but also birds, squirrels, snakes, gerbils, and other small animals, even kittens. PETA fields calls on a daily basis from distraught individuals who have discovered that birds, squirrels, and even their animal companions have become hopelessly trapped on these sticky boards. View glue-trap victim photos.
In addition to being cruel, glue traps and other lethal methods do not control rodent populations. When animals are removed from their habitat, others will move in to occupy the newly vacant niche. The only long-term way to control rodent populations is to modify the habitat so that the area is unattractive or inaccessible to the animals. However, if any rodents need to be removed from indoors, this can be done with humane box or cage traps. PETA has carried a smart mouse trap for years because it’s effective, humane, and always one of the top-selling items in PETA’s catalog. For detailed information on proven humane wildlife control methods, please visit our “Living With Wildlife” page.
What You Can Do
Wherever you see glue traps sold, be sure to send a polite letter to the store manager asking him or her to stop selling the traps and, instead, to sell humane live traps. It is possible to change store policies. CVS, Rite Aid (including Eckerd and Brooks), Supervalu Inc. (including Acme, Albertsons, Bristol Farms, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Jewel-Osco, Osco Drug, Save-a-Lot, Shaw’s, and Shop ’n Save), and Safeway, for example, no longer sell glue traps. If the company that you contact refuses to respond to your concerns and/or fails to remove the traps from its shelves, please contact us. We’ll be glad to contact the company and urge it to stop selling these hideous devices.
If you ever see that glue traps are being used to capture and kill animals, contact those responsible, ask them to stop using the traps, and provide them with information on humane alternatives. For detailed information on proven humane rodent-control methods, please visit our “Living in Harmony With House Mice” page.
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