Even mice and rats deserve better than to be stuck on a glue trap and left to die of starvation or be killed haphazardly by panicked homeowners, Saanich council heard on Feb. 5.
Representatives from the BC SPCA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, argued the traps are cruel, don’t address the problems behind infestation and can inadvertently capture other animals.
The BC SPCA’s Sarah Herring explained to councillors that once a rodents is trapped by glue, it can spend a long time suffering before it is found, and even then a person may not know how to humanely kill the animal.
“The sad reality is that most of these animals suffer and slowly die from injuries, exposure, suffocation, dehydration and starvation,” Herring said.
She also argued that the traps can at times accidentally ensnare other animals, including pets.
“There are also many other unintended victims of glue traps — birds, bats, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians — and again, household pets can also get stuck on these traps,” Herring said.
Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, in introducing the motion, pointed out there are other jurisdictions in B.C. and elsewhere that have already banned the traps, and the provincial government has already taken steps to ban other rodent extermination methods deemed as cruel, such as rodenticide.
The rodenticide ban began with similar pressure from local municipalities, Herring pointed out.
Councillors were convinced, voting unanimously to send the matter to the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities and the Union of B.C. Municipalities to try to get other communities on board to pressure the province to take action on a B.C.-wide ban.
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