Animal advocates are calling on Bunnings to remove popular glue traps from their shelves, citing them as ‘barbaric’.
Even though the traps are intended to capture bugs and insects, activists have accused them of also trapping native animals, inflicting slow, painful deaths.
Wild Animals Australia’s Cat Coake told news.com.au: “They just die because they get stuck on these things.
Advert
“It’s just barbaric and we’re asking Bunnings as a corporation to take some environmental responsibility.”
Coake said that many animals such as snakes, kookaburras and kittens falls victim to these traps.
She added: “If an animal gets stuck on it and manages to get themselves off, say for example, a bird, that bird can’t fly because it’s covered in glue, so it’s down on the ground to be eaten and if it gets stuck on a glue trap it can take days for those things to die.”
Advert
Managing solicitor volunteer at Animal Defenders Office, Tara Ward, also told the outlet that the sale of glue traps in Victoria could potentially infringe legalisation.
She said: “Provided they are capable of trapping a vertebrate and there is evidence showing that they do, then in our view an argument could well be mounted that they are in breach of the legislation.
“It would arguably be an offence to sell that contraption.”
Similarly, bird conservationists have also called on the hardware department store to stop stocking specific rat and mice poisons, as they were killing countless birds.
Advert
Daily Mail reports that BirdLife Australia demands Bunnings to remove second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) from shelves.
They claim that many birds have died after eating rodents that had ingested the poison.
There was a significant increase in rodenticide sales in 2021 after eastern Australia faced a mouse plague, prompting the animal rights organisation to launch a petition.
Advert
Their petition reads: “Second-generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) are poisoning and even killing native wildlife like owls, eagles, magpies, and quolls. It’s not just wildlife, beloved family pet cats and dogs are also at risk.
“Many Australian councils use dangerous SGARs to control rodents in council-managed buildings and spaces, without realising the impacts this has on wildlife and pets in the community.”
Following the petition, Bunnings general manager of merchandise Adrian Pearce issued a statement: “We understand there are risks associated with the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) for birds and some wildlife, and we proactively promote the safe use of these products and support customers in making informed purchasing decisions.
“Over recent months we have been working with our suppliers to include additional information on packaging as well as making updates to our website to help customers identify which products are first generation or second generation rodenticides.”
Advert
He continued: “We will continue to closely follow the advice of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and work with our suppliers to innovate in this area.”
Charisa Bossinakis