Burntwood School Ends Use Of Cruel Glue Traps Following PETA Plea

For Immediate Release:
10 February 2010

Contact:
Sam Glover 020 7357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

London – The Burntwood School in London has agreed to stop using sticky glue traps to catch mice. The move, which follows an appeal from PETA, will spare small animals at the school a frightening, lingering death. Glue traps are adhesive-coated pieces of cardboard or plastic that are designed to ensnare any small animal who wanders across their sticky surface. After learning from PETA about the intense suffering of animals whose limbs and faces get caught in glue traps, a Burntwood representative wrote, “[We] are instructing the contractor to explore other options and discontinue the use of the boards”.

Animals who are caught in sticky glue traps can suffer severely during the hours or days it takes for them to die of shock, asphyxiation, blood loss, dehydration or starvation. Skin, fur and feathers are torn from animals’ bodies as they struggle to escape from these cruel devices. Some animals even chew off their own feet in a desperate attempt to free themselves.

PETA pointed out to the school that the use of glue traps can be considered a violation of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. “An animal in a trap is a ‘protected animal'”, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website. “If [the animal] suffers unnecessarily due to poor use of a trap or failure to release or kill the animal in an appropriate manner, then an offence of causing unnecessary suffering – may have been committed.”

Besides being cruel, glue traps are also ineffective. When mice are killed, other animals move in to occupy the newly vacant area. The only way to control small-mammal and bird populations in the long term is to modify the habitat so that it becomes unattractive or inaccessible to animals. These modifications include sealing up cracks and holes in walls and foundations, keeping food and garbage in sealed containers and keeping floors and countertops clean and free of crumbs and spilled food.

“Mice and rats may be small, but they feel pain as much as the family dog or cat – or, for that matter, any teacher or student”, says PETA director Poorva Joshipura. “Burntwood’s decision to stop using cruel glue traps is a valuable lesson in compassion.”

PETA’s correspondence with the Burntwood School is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.