Woman Dressed as a Mouse Arrested After Gluing Herself to the Floor to Protest Chain's Sales of Cruel Sticky Traps

For Immediate Release:
November 18, 2009
 
Contact:
Lindsay Rajt 757-622-7382 
 
Toledo, Ohio -- At noon today, a customer dressed as a mouse entered the Lowe's store at 1136 W. Alexis Rd. in Toledo and glued herself to the floor as part of PETA's campaign to pressure the home-improvement giant to stop selling cruel glue traps. As the "mouse" screamed and writhed on the floor for nearly half an hour before being taken into police custody, other customers repeatedly set up caution signs reading, "Lowe's Tortures Animals," around her. Meanwhile, Lowe's employees tried to take the signs down and circled around the area in order to shield it from other customers.
 
Glue traps are pieces of plastic or cardboard coated with an adhesive that is designed to ensnare any small animal who comes into contact with it. Animals who get stuck in the glue may suffer for days before dying of starvation or dehydration. Patches of skin, fur, and feathers are ripped off the animals' bodies as they struggle to escape, and many animals even chew off their own legs in an effort to free themselves. Many major retailers--including Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Dollar Tree, and Safeway--refuse to sell glue traps.

"Using glue traps is the cruelest way to deal with unwanted animal guests," says PETA "mouse" Virginia Fort. "Many of the nation's leading retailers have banned the sale of sticky traps in order to stop the animal suffering that they cause, and so can Lowe's."

For more information about PETA's work to protect animals, please visit PETA.org.