Hyderabad: Based on an appeal filed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Telangana state government issued orders to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of glue traps for rodent control.
PETA India noted that the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had issued circulars in 2011 and 2020 stating that the use of cruel devices like glue traps is a punishable offense under Section 11 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Usually made of plastic trays or sheets of cardboard covered with strong glue, they’re indiscriminate killers, often catching non-target animals – including birds, squirrels, reptiles, and frogs – in apparent violation of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which prohibits the “hunting” of protected indigenous species.
In its appeal, the group requested that the state government take immediate steps to implement circulars issued by the AWBI to prohibit the cruel and illegal use of glue traps, PETA said in a press note on Friday.
In the order, Director of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Department Anita Rajendra directed District Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Officers (DVAHO) and Member Secretaries of the District Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to follow the directives of the state government and the AWBI. The Director also issued appropriate instructions to field staff, the release added.
DVAHOs were also directed to request that police conduct seizures of glue traps from manufacturers and traders, issue public-awareness notices regarding the ban on the use of these traps as well as humane methods of rodent control, and submit an Action Taken Report within 15 days.