Guwahati, March 18: Following an appeal from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, the Mizoram government has instructed all district administrations to curb the use and sale of glue traps used for rodent control.
Last year, PETA India had urged the Mizoram government to ban the manufacture, sale and use of deadly glue traps for rodent control.
In its letter issued to all Deputy Commissioners in December last year, the AH&V department urged district administrations “to take all necessary steps to curb the use and sale of glue traps within their jurisdiction” citing use of glue traps for catching rats violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, as well as the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
In its appeal to state governments earlier, PETA India had brought to attention the indiscriminate nature of glue traps, which ensnarl not only rodents but also “non-target” animals, including birds, squirrels, reptiles, and frogs, causing excruciating pain leading to a slow, torturous death of the trapped animal, the statement said.
PETA India notes that 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).
