MEDIA RELEASE

18 December 2014

SPCA welcomes glueboard traps ban

The Royal New Zealand SPCA applauds the ban on the sale and use ofglueboard traps in New Zealand.

Glueboard traps are boards with a sticky glue layer that are used to capture and hold live rodents. The SPCA considers the level of pain or distress caused to animals trapped on glueboards to be unreasonable and says that adequate alternatives are available.

“Once captured on a glue board, an animal is unable to free itself from the adhesive, and will generally bring more body parts into contact with the adhesive as it attempts to free itself. In doing so the animal will tend to further entrap itself,” says Ric Odom, RNZSPCA CEO.

“Animals may, in their attempts to free themselves, rip patches of fur out or break limbs. They may also defecate and urinate excessively from panic and distress.

“It gets worse. Unless animals that become stuck on glueboards are promptly killed using a humane method, they will be at increasing risk not only from injuries associated with escape attempts, but also from starvation, dehydration, exposure, possible injury through aggression from other animals, or suffocation if their muzzles become stuck in the glue,” says Mr Odom.

The ban under the Animal Welfare (Glueboard Traps) Order 2009 was announced yesterday by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and comes into effect from 1 January 2015.

“Glueboards are not an acceptable or humane way to control rodent populations. We welcome MPI’s announcement of their prohibition in New Zealand and we join with MPI in asking New Zealanders to keep an eye out forany glueboard rodent traps being used or sold in 2015. If you see any glueboard traps being sold or used, please report them to your local SPCA or MPI’s animal welfare hotline on 0800 008 333. Calls can be kept confidential if necessary.”

© Scoop Media