Robin rescued from lethal trap by teenage boys

23.07.12

A little robin had a lucky escape after getting stuck on a glue board, in the same area and just a few days before a grass snake was fatally injured by a similar trap.

Glue traps are cruel and indiscriminate

We’re calling for a ban on the extra-strong glue which is spread onto boards and marketed as a rat or mouse trap.

The glue is designed not to dry or lose its stickiness so catches any animal which comes along and can cause them a slow, lingering death.

Robin saved from sticky end

The bird was found by the side of Park Road in Hornsey, London on Thursday, 5 July by two 12-year-old boys on their way back from school.

The boys called us and waited with the bird until Inspector Natalie Bartle arrived and managed to prise him away from the sticky mat.

Inspector Bartle said:

This poor little robin was a pitiful sight when I first arrived - very distressed and sticky all over.

Without the caring attitude and diligence of these two young boys who knows how much longer it would have suffered.

It just shows how cruel and indiscriminate these traps can be. They catch any animal which happens along and this robin was lucky – usually those caught die a long and drawn-out death.

Despite the loss of tail feathers, the robin survived and was taken to a wildlife centre where it was later released back to the wild.

Glue traps can be fatal

A grass snake found in a similar trap 20 miles away at Fore Street in Pinner, Middlesex, a few days later was not so lucky. His scales were irrevocably damaged and sadly the animal had to be put to sleep.

It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to set these glue boards in a place where wild birds could be caught.

Unfortunately, it is legal to use them to catch rats and mice but anyone doing so is required to take precautions to avoid death or injury to wild birds or other protected animals.

Anyone with any information about people setting traps should contact the RSPCA’s cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.

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