Malta’s Animal Welfare Commissioner Said That Glue Traps Are Illegal, But It’s A Bit More Complicated Than That
After a Maltese man accidentally caught a robin in a glue trap set for rodents last week, the legality of glue traps has been at the centre of a discussion by animal enthusiasts around the island.
Animal welfare commissioner Emmanuel Buhagiar even said that the man who caught the robin should be prosecuted for the abusive act, and told TVM that glue traps are illegal.
“This act of cruelty contravenes the law about proper treatment of animals,” he had said.
However, Arnold Sciberras, a pest control expert, said this might not be the case.
“If this was true, then all the outlets (ironmongeries, pet-shops, supermarkets, pest control companies) that use glue traps would be breaking the law at an alarming rate,” he said.
Arnold reached out to a lawyer as well as Emmanuel Buhagiar himself to get a better picture.
The Maltese Wall Lizard, a protected species often caught in glue traps by accident
“Within the local law, glue traps are not illegal,” he said. “It’s the way they are used that should be monitored as to not violate the Animal Welfare Act.”
With that said, in Arnold`s view, glue boards, poisons, snap/live traps and other pest control pesticide applications should be banned all together from public use and used only by certified professionals.
“This would not only increase safety and responsibility in the country but will specifically only target the concerned pests species and avoid harming beneficial or protected species,” he said.
From the previously mentioned Robin to the shrew and wood mouse caught in the glue trap above, there are many cases of non-pest species being caught and seriously harmed, if not killed, by haphazardly placed glue-traps.
“We need to educate people as to what a pest is and at the same time try to live in harmony with local biodiversity,” he said.
LONG STORY SHORT
Glue traps are not illegal, but using them in an abusive way is. Using them to catch a protected species is illegal. Using them to catch a pest is legal.
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