Australian state to ban glue traps for mice

Something groundbreaking from the state of Victoria in Australia today: The following article appears in the Monday June 27 edition of Melbourne's Herald Sun (Pg 13) and is on line at:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15740918%255E2862,00.html
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Heading: "Mice escape cruel ending"
By Tanya Giles

People who use glue traps to kill mice and rats will be hit with fines of up to $1000 under a crackdown on animal cruelty.

The State Government is set to be the first state to outlaw the traps because of the injury, suffering and distress they cause rodents and other small animals.

Glue traps are available from supermarkets and hardware stores, and catch small animals when their feet become stuck as they walk or run across the sticky boards.

Professional trappers kill more than 250,000 rodents in Australia each year using glue traps.

A regulatory impact statement released this week has said the animals not only suffer extreme stress when stuck, but also prolonged deaths from dehydration, exposure, starvation, suffocation or attack by predators.

Animals also die from injuries or blood loss when they try to chew through their own limbs in an attempt to escape.

Agriculture Minister Bob Cameron has invited public comment on the proposed regulations until August 26.

The RSPCA and Animals Australia say they would support the bans.

The Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association said they opposed a ban because the benefits of the traps to society in rodent control outweighed animal welfare issues.
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The notice, including addresses for public comment (for Aussies) is on line at:
http://tinyurl.com/7wmf8

Victorians, please pass this onto all the other animal friendly Victorians you know and urge them to write!

I share this article internationally as inspiration for the rest of us. It is hard to imagine such a law protecting mice being passed in the US -- but why not?

Aussies and others can send the Herald Sun letters to the editor in support of the effort at:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/feedback/dhs-testletters.html


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)