Each of us is inherently an "animal rights person" to some degree, whether we realize it or not. Take the recent case of the Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail blogger who wrote about having a mouse in her house. In the post, she wrote, "Please don't email me PETA." We did one better—we sent her a humane mousetrap and then she contacted us to learn more about it. A week later, she wrote this in her blog:

"So I thought I'd do a little research on the humane mousetrap and have a chat with PETA, after all they were kind enough to send it to me, to help with my 'uninvited' guest. At first, I was a little wary. I mean this is the group that files lawsuits on behalf of orcas, and well, there's nothing I like better than a … steak. But we may have found common ground on the mousetrap."

jma.work | cc by 2.0

Whether or not people support all of PETA's campaigns, most everyone can agree on the basic principle that cruelty to animals is wrong. Even if our friends and family aren't yet convinced that they should part ways with meat, perhaps they do agree that dogs deserve better than spending their lives on a chain or that baby elephants shouldn't be beaten by circus trainers.

When we work to find that common ground, animals win. And who knows, maybe today's humane-mousetrap user is PETA's next Person of the Year. 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

As the nights get chilly, the thought of passing the evenings with friends and family in a nice, warm house sounds delightful … to mice. Like humans, mice are social animals who enjoy each other's company, and while you might not be so eager to enjoy theirs, you might have a little more respect for them after reading these fascinating mouse tidbits:

• Male mice compose complex, ultrasonic songs as part of their courtship rituals.
• Having wooed and won a partner, male California mice stay with her to help with the birth and first cleaning of the pups.
• Mice are smart. Wood mice make signposts out of leaves and twigs. And if there's a flood, a mouse might hitch a ride on a frog.
• Mice are clean and fastidious animals. They designate separate areas of their homes to use as dining rooms and bathrooms. 

If—despite their charm—you still don't care to share your home with mice, the best way to keep them out of your humble abode is to prevent them from getting inside in the first place. Seal mouse-size holes (mice can enter a hole the size of a dime), keep food in sealed containers, always clean up crumbs right away, and use safe, homemade deterrents like peppermint-soaked cotton balls. If you already have unwanted mouseguests, never use cruel glue traps, which leave the animals to suffer slow deaths from suffocation or dehydration. Instead, pick up a few humane mousetraps and set the mice free outdoors.

Written by Heather Faraid Drennan

Exciting news out of Chennai, where the Animal Welfare Board of India has banned the use of glue traps to snare and (miserably) kill mice and rats, declaring, "Available evidence clearly suggests that the use of glue traps causes unnecessary pain and suffering to the rodents and is against the spirit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act ...."

PETA's cruelty caseworkers can offer plenty of evidence of the "unnecessary pain and suffering" caused by glue traps—and not just to rodents. For instance, a recent call concerned a bird who had become helplessly mired in a restaurant's glue trap.

You'll be glad to know that things worked out OK for this little guy, whom we arranged to be taken to a wildlife rehabilitator, but for far too many animals, glue traps mean days of suffering before death by starvation, dehydration, exhaustion, or shock. In addition to being cruel, glue traps also spread diseases, which is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not using them.

The other good news to come out of this case is that the restaurant has seen the light and will no longer use glue traps. Still, a lot of folks could stand to follow the example of these restaurateurs (and India) by detaching themselves from pans of pain.

If you see anyone using glue traps, or if you'd like to see a glue-trap ban in your community, don't be shy—speak up! And if you have rats or mice visiting your business or home, learn to live peacefully and kindly with our smart and resourceful rodent neighbors.

Written by Jeff Mackey

Customers were horrified when they discovered two songbirds stuck to a glue trap at a Walmart store in Indiana. One customer rushed the birds to a wildlife rehabilitator, while another contacted PETA. We alerted law enforcement and Walmart, and Walmart acknowledged that it has a policy against using glue traps for bird control but claimed that the traps had been set for rodents. Glue traps are (obviously) indiscriminate and ensnare any animals who are unfortunate enough to wander across their path, so Walmart removed the traps that had been set in that store.

Many "non-target" animals—including birds, squirrels, gerbils, hamsters, and even kittens—suffer immensely and die in glue traps every year. One tiny kitten in Boston nearly starved to death when she became ensnared in a glue trap. PETA has asked Walmart to stop using these traps in all its stores.

If you know of any local businesses, schools, or property management companies that are using glue traps, urge them remove the traps immediately and contact PETA if they won't.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

An alert resident in Yorktown, Virginia, called PETA to tell us that a bird was caught in a glue trap set in the rafters of a Wal-Mart store. The trap was one of many that had been set by a bird-removal contractor to catch birds who wandered into the store. PETA staffers hurried to the scene and rescued the bird, and we rushed him to the local SPCA. The agency was able to remove the bird, a member of a protected species, from the glue trap, but the stress and injuries that he had endured were substantial, and he passed away overnight.

PETA alerted Wal-Mart headquarters to the sad incident, and Wal-Mart quickly terminated its contract with the bird-removal company for breaching a corporate policy, which prohibits birds from being harmed during removal. Local animal-control officers also ordered the bird-removal contractor to stop using glue traps for bird control, and they visited all local big-box stores with garden departments to inform managers that glue traps set for bird removal is cruel and will not be tolerated. 

In a related victory, Bank of America announced that it is removing glue traps set for rodents. PETA apprised the bank of the cruelty and disease risks inherent in glue traps, so it agreed to test alternative tactics, which were found to be effective.

The kindhearted Wal-Mart customer helped prevent many birds from suffering in cruel glue traps. If you see glue traps set for birds or rodents in any establishment, please politely ask the manager to remove them and report any traps specifically set for birds to local authorities.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Many people just don't realize how horrible glue traps are for mice, rats, and unintended victims such as birds and kittens—or that Lowe's refuses to stop selling these cruel devices. Well, PETA's "mouse" enlightened shoppers outside a Lowe's in Charlotte, North Carolina, yesterday—just in time for the company's annual meeting, which takes place today.

I bet the gal with phone in the photo above is tapping out an e-mail to Lowe's bigwigs. Or she could be reminding her Facebook friends to be nice to mice. Please cover all the bases by doing both. Small, sensitive animals thank you in advance.

Written by Karin Bennett

Happy (belated) April Fool's, folks! If you were to pick out one of our blogs from yesterday and label it a fantasy, which would you pick? Sure, McDonald's basketball seems made up, but it turns out that we do not support genetically engineering rats. But judging from the comments on the first blog about our rabbit-rat hybrid, we were able to pull one over on a few of you with the help of our friends over at Ecorazzi. Got a good laugh out of it all? Well, you're in good company, because it turns out that rats—who are sensitive, clever, and affectionate—love to laugh too! (And, no, we're not kidding this time. That really has been proved.)

To treat animals better only because they are cute is as insupportable as genetically engineering rats to have powder-puffy tails. No one deserves to be killed with gut-wrenching poisons, force-fed toxic chemicals, or left writhing on a glue trap because they aren't considered important. Tell us what you think:

Written by Logan Scherer

Sticking up for rats—who are sensitive, intelligent, and nurturing—has always been high on our agenda, although not everyone understands that these dear little mammals are worth caring about … yet.

There is hope, however. For the last 14 months, we've been funding two scientists at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) who are formulating a hybrid species that will make rats less despised. You may remember when we lodged a complaint against the INRA for the glow-in-the-dark rabbit, but sometimes good things come from bad. The rabbit genome is nearly identical to that of the rat, and we have found a way to put this science and experience to good use. Using the same zygote microinjection process (to which we still object!) that was used to create the glow-in-the-dark rabbit, these geneticists can isolate the gene that's responsible for bunnies' cotton-ball tails and then insert it into fertilized rat egg cells. The results are truly phenomenal, producing a genetically engineered rat whom no one will want to harm:

"People are almost certain to be kinder to a tiny mammal with a powder-puff tail," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "Not only would this pay off in cities that kill these animals with gut-wrenching poisons, it would also make it harder for lab assistants to force-feed toxic chemicals to them or for homeowners to watch them struggle in cruel glue traps."

Rats with a dominant gene for bunny tails can easily be released to breed with wild rodents in New York and other major cities, creating a "rat pack" whose charms no one will be able to resist.

Written by Logan Scherer

Whenever people ask where my parents got my name, I never miss a beat before saying "The X-Men." Am I really named after Wolverine? Maybe, maybe not, but as a lifetime comic book fan I think it's a better story than "My great-great uncle three times removed was a Civil War hero …" and, well, you get the point.

After today, though, I just might start mixing my story up a little, considering that I now share my name with another hero for animals: Boston's Logan Airport has agreed to stop using glue traps and is the latest recipient of PETA's Compassionate Action Award. Massachusetts Port Authority CEO Thomas Kinton Jr. made the decision to pull glue traps after learning about the days of starvation and dehydration suffered by animals who become ensnared in the inhumane death pads. As a result, airport employees have agreed to implement a no-glue-trap policy and are working with PETA to implement more humane methods of catching animals.

cec-waterjet / CC

Boston's Logan sticks it to glue traps, I have animal-tastic blogging skills, and Wolverine is on our list of the Top 10 Animal-Friendly Superheroes … I'm beginning to see a connection. Anybody else notice that Logan and vegan only differ by two letters?

Written by Logan Scherer

It was literally a sticky situation for employees at one Lowe's store in Toledo, Ohio, yesterday, when a woman dressed as a mouse entered the store and "glued" herself to the floor. As the "mouse" screamed and writhed, customers surrounded her with caution signs reading, "Lowe's Tortures Animals."

The "mouse" was taken into police custody after half an hour of shrieking and struggling, and she was lucky. Being arrested is nothing compared to the days of starvation and dehydration that animals ensnared in glue traps suffer. The misery of glue traps is so painful that some animals even chew off their own legs in a desperate attempt to free themselves. No glue trap is humane—and there are effective alternatives. Urge Lowe's to end the torment and stop selling glue traps immediately.

Written by Logan Scherer