Urge Companies to Ban Vile Glue Traps

One of the cruellest methods of “rodent control” that exists today is the use of deadly glue traps. These devices – consisting of pieces of cardboard, fibreboard, or plastic coated with a strong adhesive – are indiscriminate killers, designed to ensnare any small animal who wanders across or lands on them.

Consumers are generally directed to throw trapped but living animals into the bin along with the trap, leaving them to suffer for days until they die of exhaustion, injury, shock, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss. Rodents and other animals who become trapped endure agony during the days that it can take for them to die. Glue traps can rip patches of their skin, fur, or feathers off as they struggle to escape, and many animals will even chew through their own legs in an effort to break free. Sometimes, their faces get stuck in the glue and they suffocate, which can take hours.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Glue traps are banned in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and Victoria. And many retailers – including Mitre 10, Kmart, Big W, and Target Australia – have stopped selling them. But despite the suffering that these devices clearly cause countless animals, some retailers continue to sell them.

If you discover that your local supermarket or hardware shop is selling them or that a business or property manager is using them, please speak up. You can inform the people involved about the extreme cruelty these traps cause and urge them to stop selling or using them.

Feel free to use our sample letter below, changing any details as necessary. Let us know if you receive a positive response.

Dear [Mr/Ms Surname],

I’m contacting you because I was shocked to learn that [Company] is selling glue traps.

Glue traps are one of the cruellest products on the market. Panicked animals endure immense and prolonged suffering as they struggle to escape from these devices, only to die of exhaustion, injury, shock, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss.

So inhumane are glue traps that they’ve been banned in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and Victoria. During a 2008 review of Victoria’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations, a scientific analysis of rodent-control methods concluded that glue traps are one of the most barbaric options:

Furthermore, these traps don’t work in the long run. In fact, they can cause the unwanted animal population to grow. As animals are killed or removed from an area, more take their place as they search for available resources, and the temporary spike in the food supply results in accelerated breeding and an increase in population. Therefore, the only sustainable solution is to prevent rodents from being attracted to an area and gaining access to it in the first place, not to kill them.

Many retailers – including Bunnings Warehouse, Mitre 10, Kmart, Big W, and Target – have already stopped selling these products. Please commit to following their example by removing glue traps from your stores and never selling them again.

Sincerely,