Please help AFAR expose those selling or using banned glue traps

national | animal rights | news report

Friday May 23, 2008 13:47

by Bernie Wright - Alliance for Animal Rights

allianceforanimalrights at gmail dot com

AFAR,PO Box 4734. Dublin.1 ireland.

Rodent Glue traps openly on sale despite being illegal

“Rodent and bird Glue traps are an extremely cruel method of killing animals.
we believe that if people knew the degree of cruelty associated with these devices they would want no part of them.
The are illegal under the wildlife act (approved traps, snares and nets) regulations 2003.
However the sale or possession of these traps will have to be monitored to eradicate them completely.
So far Atlantic,Swords and Murtaghs Co Meath , among other rural stores have removed them immediately when told by us that they were illegal.We appreciate their cooperation.-most are imported and they are also openly for sale still on the internet .AFAR members will be reporting all shops selling them .

There has been a few court cases involving the illegal possession of GTs In 2005 a substantial number were seized at Dublin port , the dept of the environment arranged the recall and destruction of these traps. “

The use of glue traps dates back to at least 1832, when a sticky device was developed to capture birds. Since then, glue or adhesive traps have been used to trap a variety of animals, and they are now common methods of mOuse and rat control.(1) Sticky glue traps cause the animals they catch an enormous amount of suffering and a traumatic death. Humane methods of rodent control are available.
What Is a Glue Trap?
A glue trap consists of a piece of cardboard, fiberboard, or plastic that is coated with a sticky adhesive. Sticky traps are designed for indoor use, since outside they can become clogged with leaves and other loose material. Glue trap makers generally state that trapped animals should be thrown away along with the trap. Thus, animals suffer alive in the trap for days. most are produced in the Uk.
Humane or Horrible?
A 1983 test that evaluated the effectiveness of glue traps found that trapped mice struggling to free themselves would pull out their own hair, exposing bare, raw areas of skin. The mice broke or even bit off their own legs, and the glue caused their eyes to become badly irritated and scarred. After three to five hours in the glue traps, the mice defecated and urinated heavily because of their severe stress and fear, and quickly became covered with their own excrement.(2) Animals whose faces become stuck in the glue slowly suffocate, and all trapped animals are subject to starvation and dehydration.
Please use Solutions Without Suffering
The problem of rodent infestation is largely preventable by maintaining clean, sanitary conditions and plugging holes or cracks where mice or rats might enter a building. If traps are needed to remove mice or rats, humane box-type traps are available. These traps are a box-like plastic or cage-like metal with a spring-release trap door at one end that closes behind the animal once he or she enters the trap. The trap can then be taken outdoors where the animal can be released. When using these, be sure to check them every few hours, as frightened rodents, with their high rate of metabolism, quickly become thirsty and hungry.
Despite the stereotypes of "dirty" or "diseased" mice and rats, it is seldom warranted to kill bothersome rodents. The use of poisons can result in the painful deaths of cats, dogs, and other animals who either ingest the poison by mistake or eat the bodies of poisoned rodents. Natural repellents or nonlethal traps are the only truly humane methods of rodent control.