The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory body of the central government, has issued an advisory to chief secretaries of all state governments and the Indian Pest Control Association to prohibit the use, sale and manufacture of glue traps to catch rodents, as they are harmful to the animals. The board has also written to the Directorate of Foreign Trade asking for a ban on the import of these traps. Glue traps, glueboards or sticky traps are used to catch rodents, especially rats, by letting the animal’s feet or fur get attached to the adhesive on its surface. This glue is so powerful that if a rodents gets attached to it, it cannot free itself and if it does, a part of its skin will come off. Due to this, the animal may die of dehydration, suffocation or starvation. Some may even try to chew off their own body parts attached to the glue in order to escape, causing injuries or blood loss. RM Kharb, Chairman of AWBI, in his letter said, “Available evidence clearly suggests that use of glue traps causes unnecessary pain and suffering to the rodents and is against the spirit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, especially Section 11 that deals with cruelty to animals generally, while there are more human methods available to control the population of rats. Therefore, the use of glue traps for controlling rats/rodents is in contravention of the provisions contained in the PCA Act 1960. Use of glue traps is a cruel practice as such must be discontinued.” The advisory was issued in response to the petition by Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO). “Our members had brought this to our notice a long time ago, but because it is about rodents, all those we approached did not take it seriously. We realised the need for a policy directive when we came to know how rampant it is. Thus, we sent a request to AWBI with evidence and notings of international vets, all pointing to how painful glue traps are for these animals,” said Arpan Sharma, Convenor, FIAPO.