Our new animation on glue traps just hit 10 million views

They're one of the most barbaric devices still used against wildlife in the UK - and Amazon is still selling them.

A few days ago, we released our newest animation - and it’s gone viral.

This time, we’re exposing the horrific realities of glue traps, one of the most barbaric devices still used against wildlife in the UK and beyond.

Drawn in by food, animals become trapped on sticky mats coated with a powerful adhesive. They often spend hours or days stuck there, until they eventually succumb to exhaustion, dehydration or injury.

The suffering and terror caused by these traps is unimaginable - animals have been known to chew off their own limbs in an attempt to escape.

These traps are used for so called ‘pest control’ purposes, and rats and mice are their primary victims. But glue traps don’t discriminate, catching birds and squirrels, hedgehogs, cats and more.

Just days ago, a Sunderland wildlife charity found a magpie stuck in a glue trap that had been used to catch a rat. Mike the magpie was stuck by his feathers, desperately struggling to free himself. There were seven glue traps found around the property, which had been baited with cheese.

It’s actually illegal for the public to use glue traps to catch rodents in England, Scotland and Wales. Hardly any of the public are aware of this though, and glue traps continue to be widely sold online, often marketed for catching insects (which is bad enough).

The homeowner where the magpie was trapped said they were unaware that glue traps were illegal, and they had assumed that they were fine to use as they had bought it through Amazon.

Amazon’s customer reviews leave little doubt these devices are being used to target rats and mice in the UK. Just a warning, the following images are pretty horrific. But I think they’re important to see.

What you can do right now

The animation has reached 10 million people. Now we need those people to act.

Amazon continues to sell glue traps. We’re calling on them to stop - and we need your voice backing that demand.

Aside from urging major retailers to stop sales, we hope this animation will help to raise awareness of glue traps and stop people from using them. There is no humane way to use a glue trap - not for insects, not for mice, not for anything. They are cruel by design.

Instead, we recommend a non-lethal humane trap, or to contact somewhere like Humane Wildlife Solutions, who voiced our animation.