Glue traps ‘kill wildlife’
Songbirds and pets caught by legal pest control boards Flatten Mr Fox... wood that inspired Dahl cleared
SANCTUARY Wood is home to badgers & bats
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”
DIGGERS clear part of an ancient woodland said to have inspired author Roald Dahl to write Fantastic Mr Fox to clear a path for HS2.
Around 1.8 acres of Jones’ Hill Wood, which stretches 4.4 acres, is set to be dug up in order to make way for the high speed rail line.
It is home to foxes, bats badgers and tawny owls.
Work began last week to clear a corner of the site, but HS2 officials are still waiting for formal permission to clear the rest.
Dahl, who died in 1990
– 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.
and had lived in the nearby village of Great Missenden, Bucks, is said to have drawn on walks in the woodlands for inspiration for his novel, first published in 1970. Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust, said: “It’s always a sad day for ancient woodland and the species that inhabit it when the diggers move in.”
A HS2 spokesman said: “HS2 is creating new woodland, wildlife and river habitats alongside the line, equivalent of 23 Hyde Parks.”
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.”