Victory! Ojai Becomes Second City in U.S. to Ban Deadly Glue Traps After Outreach From PETA

For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Ojai, Calif – Following communications with PETA and a campaign by animal ally Mayor Betsy Stix, the Ojai City Council voted unanimously this evening to ban the sale and use of glue traps—trays coated with a sticky adhesive that ensnare small animals, who can suffer for days before dying, their faces and limbs mired in the glue. The move makes Ojai the second city in the country to ban the indiscriminate, lethal traps, which ensnare songbirds, mice, and other small animals. West Hollywood passed a similar ban in April 2023, and just this January, Congressman Ted Lieu introduced the Glue Trap Prohibition Act (H.R. 7018) to the U.S. House of Representatives, which seeks to ban the use and sale of glue traps nationwide.

“This ban on glue traps will help ensure that small animals in Ojai will no longer die in terror and agony after being caught by these vile devices,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA thanks Mayor Stix and other Ojai officials for protecting animals from horrific cruelty and urges lawmakers across the country to do the same.”

“I’m so proud to have worked with PETA and our city council to reduce animal suffering and protect vulnerable wildlife by getting cruel glue traps out of Ojai,” says Stix.

Wildlife—including birds, snakes, lizards, rats, and squirrels—who get stuck in the glue struggle desperately to escape, sometimes chewing off their own limbs before succumbing to shock, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss. Glue traps fail as a long-term solution because they neglect to address the source of the problem: As long as food remains accessible, more animals will move in to take the place of those who have been killed.

Hundreds of companies and entities as well as countries such as England, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and Wales; two Australian states; and more than 30 states and union territories in India have all banned glue traps.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.