Imagine walking into an animal glue trap, having your hair torn away while struggling to free yourself before eventually dying from starvation or dehydration.
That was the ordeal a community cat experienced, according to animal welfare organisation theSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), who posted a photo on Monday afternoon of a bedraggled cat that was trapped on a glue-board trap shown above.
SPCA said the cat was found in Blk 527 Jurong West Street 52, by people who had been feeding the cat on a regular basis. The cat was found to be caught in a glue-trap board about 4 by 5 feet in size which contained an excessive amount of glue.
She was found to be in deep distress and was panting heavily when she was brought to SPCA.
SPCA told Yahoo! Singapore that they have referred the matter to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) last Friday and asked them to review their request made in 2009 to ban such boards.
"SPCA has previously appealed to AVA to institute a ban of glue-board traps because of the suffering caused to animals that are trapped on them, not only rats, but other species," said the animal welfare organisation on their Facebook page.
Glue traps are usually placed indoors for rodent control and pests caught on these boards are thrown away with the traps, leaving the trapped animal to suffer for days, subjected to starvation and dehydration.
Animals with their faces stuck in the glue will slowly suffocate. In order to escape the trap, some animals will chew off their own limbs.
This cat was found trapped in a glue-trap board used for rodent control. (Photo from SPCA's Facebook)
One SPCA Facebook user Kevin Yan said, "The trap is way too big to catch a rat. It can cause great danger to a toddler."
Responding to media queries, AVA said it was alerted by SPCA of the incident and is currently investigating the matter with the assistance of the pest control company concerned.
AVA added that it has, in the past, consulted pest control and environmental management bodies on the use of glue traps for trapping rodents and issued guidelines on the usage of glue traps.
AVA added that it has, in the past, consulted pest control and environmental management bodies on the use of glue traps for trapping rodents and issued guidelines on the usage of glue traps.
"Specifically; glue traps intended for rodents should preferably be used in enclosed areas to avoid the trapping of the wrong animal; trapped rodents have to be killed humanely and disposed of properly," said AVA in a statement.
"More importantly, any non-target animal caught in the trap, such as cats or birds, must be released from the trap unharmed and have the glue removed from its body (with cooking or baby oil)," AVA added.
Anyone charged in court and found guilty of animal cruelty can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to 12 months, or both. AVA added that it will not hesitate to press for a deterrent sentence, if warranted.
*back into the abyss of death*
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