Urge Your U.S. Representative to Help Ban Cruel Glue Traps Now!

In a historic move to defend vulnerable small animals, U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Ca.-36) has introduced a bill that would ban the use, sale, and distribution of cruel glue traps, which kill, injure, and permanently disable countless small animals every year. We need your help to get this landmark legislation passed!

The Glue Trap Prohibition Act (HR7018) would protect countless species of wildlife, including protected species, by outlawing glue traps, which inflict unimaginable suffering on terrified, defenseless animals.

The Case Against Glue Traps

A glue trap is a small board covered with a sticky adhesive designed to ensnare any animal who wanders across its surface. These devices inflict slow, painful deaths on mice, rats, birds, chipmunks, bats, lizards, squirrels, and any other animals small enough to get caught in the glue. They can take days to die of starvation, dehydration, or blood loss, while they cry out in agony.

Animals trapped in the glue panic and struggle, which causes them to become even more ensnared. Often, the glue tears off patches of their fur, feathers, or skin—and some animals even chew off their own limbs in a desperate effort to escape. In other cases, their noses, mouths, or beaks get stuck in the glue, causing them to suffocate to death over the course of hours. Or they die from being crushed in the garbage, which is where the instructions on glue traps advise consumers to put them.

These devices are not long-term solutions for controlling “unwanted houseguests,” as they do nothing to deter mice, rats, and other animals. When animals like rodents are killed by these traps, survivors and newcomers breed faster, resulting in a population increase. Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns the public not to use glue traps because they increase people’s exposure to dangerous diseases. Animals stuck in the glue continue to produce urine and feces, through which pathogens, including hantavirus, are transmitted. The only way to protect human health and ensure that wildlife stay outside is to seal all entries and keep outdoor and living spaces clean.

How You Can Help

By banning glue traps, the U.S. would join an ever-growing list of places—including England, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Wales, two states and one territory in Australia, and more than 30 states and union territories in India—that have already banned these cruel devices.

Please use the form below to urge your U.S. representative to cosponsor the Glue Trap Prohibition Act today! (Note: You may not be given the option to contact your legislator because they’re already a cosponsor of the bill.)