The Lakshadweep administration has banned the use of deadly glue traps for catching rodents in the Union Territory.
The move follows an appeal from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.
A circular in this regard instructed animal husbandry units across the islands to comply with Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) advisories prohibiting glue traps.
Citing The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, which prohibits causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals, the notification advises a switch to humane methods of rodent control.
It also reiterates the AWBI’s caution that any person using glue traps is liable to incur fines and/or be imprisoned and directs competent authorities to raise public awareness regarding humane alternatives.
Similar circulars taking action on glue traps have previously been issued by the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal.
“The manufacturers and sellers of glue traps sentence small animals to hideously slow and painful deaths and can turn those who buy them into lawbreakers. PETA India applauds the union territory of Lakshadweep for taking steps across the islands to protect animals, no matter how small, and for setting an example for the entire country to follow,” said PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain.
The use of glue traps is a punishable offence under Section 11 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
PETA India points out 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).
Rodents can also be removed using humane cage traps but must be released where they will find adequate food, water, and shelter to help them survive.
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