Maharashtra Government Takes Action to Stop Sale and Use of Glue Traps to Catch Rodents in Response to PETA India Appeal
Following an appeal from PETA India, the Maharashtra Commissionerate of Animal Husbandry has issued a circular instructing the deputy animal husbandry commissioners and member secretaries, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of all districts, to ensure compliance with the group’s request to prohibit the sale, production, and use of glue traps to catch rodents. The circular cites an advisory by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) against these sticky boards and underlines that their use violates Section 11 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Citing the indiscriminate nature of glue traps, the circular calls attention to the suffering endured by non-target species like birds, squirrels, reptiles, and frogs who also get caught in them.
In its appeal, PETA India requested that Maharashtra take immediate steps to implement the AWBI’s directions against cruel and illegal glue traps. Similar circulars taking action on glue traps have been issued by the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
Usually made of plastic trays or sheets of cardboard covered with strong glue, these traps are indiscriminate killers that frequently ensnare non-target animals. This also makes their use a violation of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which prohibits the “hunting” of protected indigenous species. Mice, rats, and other animals caught in these traps may suffocate when their noses and mouths become stuck in the glue, while some even chew through their legs in a desperate bid for freedom and die from blood loss. Others starve to death, stuck to the board for days. Those found alive may be thrown away along with the trap or face an even more traumatic death, such as bludgeoning or drowning.
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The best way to control rodent populations is to make the area unattractive or inaccessible to them: eliminate food sources by keeping surfaces and floors clean and storing food in chew-proof containers, sealing trash cans, and using ammonia-soaked cotton balls or rags to drive rodents away (they hate the smell). After giving them a few days to leave, seal entry points using foam sealant, steel wool, hardware cloth, or metal flashing. Rodents can also be removed using humane cage traps but must be released where they will find adequate food, water, and shelter to help them survive.
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