Victory! Quick-Commerce Platform Zepto Stops Selling Glue Traps After Hearing from PETA India
PETA India congratulates quick-commerce delivery platform Zepto, headquartered in Bengaluru, for delisting and stopping the sale of glue traps via its app and website. The move comes after PETA India alerted Zepto that manufacturing, using, and selling glue traps is prohibited across 32 states and union territories in India. PETA India drew Zepto’s attention to the indiscriminate nature of the deadly glue traps, which catch any small animals, including birds and kittens, causing them excruciating pain and leading to their slow and torturous death. Zepto confirmed that they are strengthening their internal checks to help identify and address such listings more effectively moving forward. Online platforms Amazon India, Meesho, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and JioMart also removed listings for glue traps after being contacted by PETA India, and Rajmandir Hypermarket and Wellness Forever have stopped selling them across their stores.
Glue traps – trays coated with a sticky adhesive that ensnare small animals, who can suffer for days before dying – are one of the cruelest methods of killing animals in existence today. Many animals get stuck and struggle desperately to escape, sometimes chewing off their own limbs before succumbing to starvation, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss.
Animals stuck in the glue continue to produce urine and feces, through which pathogens, including hantavirus, salmonella, and the bacteria that cause leptospirosis, are transmitted, posing a major health hazard. Glue traps are also largely ineffective because they neglect to address the source of the problem: As long as food remains accessible, more rodents will move in to take the place of those who have been killed.
The long-term solution to control rodent populations is to make the area unattractive or inaccessible to them by eliminating their food sources, sealing rubbish containers, and blocking hiding places. PETA India advises ammonia-soaked cotton balls or rags will drive rodents out (they hate the smell). Once out, entry points can be sealed using foam sealant, steel wool, hardware cloth, or metal flashing. Where rodents need to be removed from homes, this can be done with humane cage traps which must be checked daily and the animals released safely a distance away from the home.
