PETA to Metro: Stop using cruel means to trap mice and rats

WASHINGTON — For animals caught in glue traps, death can take days.

“Trapped animals panic, they will sometimes tear themselves apart in their struggle to escape. Some of them will chew off their own limbs”, says Brittany Peet, with PETA.

The group is urging Metro to stop using the devices to kill rodents at Metro stations.

“Glue traps are completely indiscriminate. Any animal who wanders across them, whether it’s a mouse, a bird or a kitten, will find themselves subject to a slow painful death,” Peet says.

PETA asked the transportation agency to pull the traps and posted an action alert on its website encouraging visitors to contact transit authorities and urge them to stop using the devices.

Peet says use of these devices likely violate Washington and Maryland anti-cruelty laws.

“Metro is completely shirking that issue and claiming it’s exempt from the law,” Peet says.

PETA says the traps also fail to address the source of the problem: food and garbage. As long as these remain, more mice and rats will move in to take the place of those killed.

On its website, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it does not recommend using glue traps. It says animals caught live can be scared, which can cause them to urinate. Since their urine may contain germs, this may increase the risk of being exposed to diseases.

Metro declined to comment when contacted by WTOP.

“There is absolutely no reason Metro should be using our tax dollars to fund this incredible cruelty.”

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