Glue traps banned in Scotland. So why is England trailing behind?

Scotland completely banned rodent glue traps on Wednesday 1 July 2026. But this stunning animal rights victory only exposes the lethal loopholes that still exist in England. Once more, we are dragging our feet on yet more animal rights laws.

The Westminster cabal passed a partial ban in 2024, but it left a gaping hole. These inhumane and torturous traps remain widely available for literally pennies in independent British shops and huge online marketplaces.

Glue traps — Indiscriminate cruelty

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a glue trap. They’re vile, disgusting little cardboard or plastic sheets, coated in incredibly strong glue. And that glue doesn’t dry. A cute little mouse walks over it, or a bird gets too close and they’re trapped. And because they don’t kill instantly it’s an agonising death.

They can spend hours struggling against the glue, tearing their own skin, breaking tiny bones or even chewing off their own limbs just to try to escape. These tiny creatures die slowly from dehydration, starvation, suffocation or from the injuries they get trying to free themselves.

From today, July 1st, it will be a criminal offence to use, supply or possess a glue trap for use on vertebrate animals in Scotland. Offenders face a fine of up to £40,000 or up to 12 months in prison. These vile traps should be banned everywhere. pic.twitter.com/g8CGRY9xkR

— Protect the Wild (@ProtectTheWild_) July 1, 2026

These horrific devices are indiscriminate. They will catch anything that gets too close, and that includes our protected wildlife. The Scottish SPCA had to deal with 48 reports of glue trap incidents between 2023 and 2024.

Their investigators managed to free bats, birds and even hedgehogs that had suffered horrific accidents due to the traps. And so many of them had to be euthanised. No wonder Scotland has had the balls to ban these horrific traps.

In contrast, Britain sucks

Scotland took the decisive action to ban glue traps through the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 to finally end the mindless suffering of animals. This new Scottish law makes it a strict criminal offence to use, supply or possess these traps.

A fine of up to £40,000 is the real deterrent here, coupled with a year in prison if the law is broken in Scotland. These punishments massively outclass the weak and pathetic approach seen in Britain.

England’s Glue Traps (Offenses) Act was supposed to have banned public use of the traps on 31 July 2024. But it’s a spineless law which omitted banning traps from professional pest controllers who can continue to use them under license.

But we all know how it goes in the south. The law has never been enforced properly, and anyone can just go online and buy them, even without a license. There’s even a website called www.gluetraps.co.uk that is chock full of them. And for nearly £14, a regular member of the public, such as myself, can buy six standard glue traps.

Retailers have gone one step further and are bypassing the law entirely by simply rebranding rodent glue traps as ‘insect sticky monitors’.

Where is the deterrent?

Profits over protection

Because England refuses to ban the sale of glue traps entirely, the law is utterly failing. The Animal Sentience Committee, a statutory government body, reviewed whether ministers actually had due regard for animal welfare under the English act. Guess what?

They don’t, it seems. They’ve been dragging their heels on trail hunting for 20 years too.

This statutory body warned that continuing the sale of glue traps members of the public may put people at significant risk of breaking the law. One that they’re not even aware of. Profits are clearly, as per usual, put before animal welfare. And it’s leaving millions of beautiful, sentient little creatures to die a slow and agonising death.

Will the government finally pull it’s finger out and close yet another loophole in an animal welfare law? Are they finally going to step up and introduce a unified, total sales ban across the entire country?

Our wildlife can’t wait any longer, as the Westminster cabal protects retail profits over millions of living, breathing creatures.

Featured image via author