The BC SPCA is pleased to announce that the UBCM membership has endorsed the resolution asking for a province-wide ban on the sale, purchase, and use of glue traps. “We’re thrilled that UBCM members have endorsed this resolution, and we hope the provincial government will act on their recommendation,” says Sarah Herring, the BC SPCA’s government relations officer. “We want to thank Councillor Teale Phelps-Bondaroff from the District of Saanich, and Councillor John Rogers from the Town of View Royal who helped us draft the resolution and presented it at the UBCM Convention. We also want to thank our dedicated supporter, Lavinia Rojas, who brought this issue to the Councillors attention and urged them to take action.”
Herring adds that British Columbians can help the BC SPCA call for this important change by talking to their provincial election candidates and new MLAs about the importance of animal welfare, and by choosing to use only humane rodent-proofing and control methods.
“I am grateful to all of the passionate advocates who helped make this resolution a reality, and I hope that the provincial government will step up and ban these horrific and indiscriminate traps,” says Councillor Teale Phelps-Bondaroff. “Glue traps are inhumane and cause prolonged suffering. The animals caught in glue traps suffer horrific and lingering deaths, and this is a fate experienced by target and non-target animals alike.”
For more information on glue traps and their humane alternatives visit animalkind.ca/glue-traps.
BC SPCA urges local governments to endorse resolution banning glue traps at 2024 UBCM Convention
Original story: September 12, 2024
The BC SPCA is calling on B.C.’s local governments to endorse a resolution asking for a province-wide ban on the sale, purchase and use of glue traps. “For years, the BC SPCA has advocated against wildlife control methods that cause prolonged suffering and endanger non-target species,” says Sarah Herring, the BC SPCA’s Government Relations Officer. “Glue traps cause severe pain and suffering to rodents and other animals who get caught in the traps like small birds, bats, reptiles and even pets.”
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and American Veterinary Medical Association advise that glue traps are not considered an acceptable means of killing vertebrate animals because they are inhumane. Glue traps have already been banned in Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Wales and parts of Australia and India. The District of North Vancouver and Town of View Royal have banned their use on municipal property.
The resolution was championed by Councillors Teale Phelps-Bondaroff from the District of Saanich, and Councillor John Rogers from the Town of View Royal after hearing a presentation from Lavinia Rojas, one of the BC SPCA’s passionate supporters, who has dedicated herself to raising awareness about glue traps and calling for them to be banned. They worked with the BC SPCA to draft a resolution endorsed by the District of Saanich, the Town of View Royal and the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC).
“I am pleased to see this resolution heading on to UBCM and hope that delegates there will support it as enthusiastically as the delegates at AVICC,” says Saanich Councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff. “Glue traps are inhumane and indiscriminate. The animals caught in glue traps suffer horrific and lingering deaths, and this is a fate experienced by target and non-target animals alike.”
Herring adds, “Advocacy and action from concerned and passionate community members, like Lavinia, and dedicated elected officials, like Councillors Phelps-Bondaroff and Rogers, are critical for enhancing animal welfare. We can all take individual actions to enhance animal welfare, but we need government leadership to make large-scale policy changes.”
The problem with glue traps:
- Cause severe pain and suffering to rodents and other unintended animals like birds, bats, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and even pets.
- Designed to catch animals, not kill them. People typically leave them unchecked for long periods of time, so trapped animals can live for more than 24 hours before dying from suffocation, dehydration, starvation, exhaustion or exposure.
- Rodents feel pain and distress like any other animal and deserve to be treated humanely, even when lethal management is required.
What should be done instead:
- The most effective and humane way to control mice and rats is rodent proofing to prevent a problem before it occurs.
- Using glue traps without addressing the root cause of a rodent infestation will only result in an endless cycle of trapping, suffering and inhumane death.
- When lethal control is required (after preventative measures have been made including sealing entry points), the most humane options are snap traps or captive bolt traps (which are designed to cause a quick death).
For more information on glue traps visit animalkind.ca/glue-traps.