Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Glue traps ‘kill wildlife’
Songbirds and pets caught by legal pest control boards
INHUMANE glue traps designed for vermin control are also killing wildlife and pets, charities warn.
The traps, also called glue boards or sticky boards, are sheets of cardboard, plastic or wood coated with adhesive.
The traps, sold legally for as little as £5, are generally used to catch rats and mice.
But this week RSPCA investigators revealed that two robins had been found stuck on one of the devices.
Staff at the Oak & Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre in Wiltshire carefully freed the birds but both later died.
In December Miles the cat, a beloved family pet, had to be put down after getting stuck on four glue traps in North London. He had a large infected wound on his leg, his tail had been damaged and his hind legs were stuck together.
Bats and seagulls have also fallen victim to the traps, as well as songbirds.
Police say criminals use “lime sticks”
– traps covered with seeds and glue – to trap birds to sell as pets or food.
PETA vice president Mimi Bekhechi said: “Glue traps are torture devices on which small, vulnerable animals – from mice to songbirds – die slowly and painfully. These traps should be illegal.
Victims frantically attempt to escape, tearing off their own skin in the process and even breaking wings or bones.”
She added that as well as being cruel, they were ineffective as pest control.
The RSPCA advised anyone finding a trapped animal: “Many are more seriously injured than you think, so it is best that they are examined properly to see if they need veterinary treatment.
“Stay back and call the RSPCA.” It added: “It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to intentionally catch, kill or injure wild birds using glue traps, so anyone using these traps should take precautions to prevent causing death or injury to any non-target animals.”