PETA Wants Dunkin’ to Stop Using Cruel Glue Traps After Miami Health Inspection Failure

For Immediate Release:
July 15, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Following reports that a Miami Dunkin’ failed a health inspection after a dead rodent was found inside the eatery still stuck to a glue trap—a small tray coated with sticky adhesive that can cause animals to tear off limbs and flesh as they struggle to free themselves, leading to their suffering for days before dying—PETA sent an urgent letter today to Dunkin’ CEO Scott Murphy, calling on him to implement a company-wide ban on the extremely cruel devices at all Dunkin’ locations and franchises.

PETA notes that mice, rats, and other small animals who get mired in the glue struggle desperately to escape, sometimes trying to chew off their own trapped limbs before succumbing to starvation, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss. Glue traps also fail as a long-term solution because they neglect to address the source of the problem: As long as food remains improperly stored or disposed and accessible through unsealed entry points—such as the holes in the wall and ceiling near the drive-thru window noted in the Miami inspection report—animals will continue to move in to take the place of those who have been killed.

“PETA is urging Dunkin’ to join the hundreds of companies and institutions that have already made the compassionate choice to ban these vile devices,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “Glue traps cause immense, prolonged suffering as small animals fight for their lives, often ripping their own skin off and even breaking bones in a desperate but futile attempt to escape.”

After hearing from PETA, major retailers, including CVS, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Target, and Walgreens, as well as more than 115 airports nationwide and Simon Property Group, the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States, have banned the use of glue traps. Numerous cities have also banned the cruel devices, including in Culver City, Ojai, Laguna Beach, Ventura, and West Hollywood, California.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Murphy follows.

July 15, 2026

Scott Murphy
President
Dunkin’

Dear Mr. Murphy,

I’m writing on behalf of PETA regarding a recent health inspection failure at your Miami franchise, which revealed the location was using cruel glue traps—sticky boards that immobilize animals and leave them to endure a slow, painful death. While we certainly understand the need to keep donut-loving rodents out of the restaurant, glue traps are among the cruelest devices on the market. They’re ineffective, pose risks to human health, and are a hole lot worse than other wildlife control methods. We urge you to prohibit their use.

Mice and rats are social, empathetic animals who become deeply attached to each other, love their families, and easily bond with their human guardians. When these sensitive animals get caught on glue traps they are forced to suffer for hours, often for days, before slowly dying from dehydration, starvation, suffocation, or blood loss. In their desperate attempts to escape, they tear off their own skin, break bones, and sometimes even chew off their own limbs.

Glue traps are also dangerous to customers and employees. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against their use because they can increase people’s exposure to diseases, which conflicts with the sanitation standards expected in a food-service environment like Dunkin’.

Hundreds of companies and institutions, including Simon Property Group—the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States—Target, CVS, U-Haul, and more than 115 airports, have banned glue traps, as have entire countries such as England, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. Glue traps have also been banned in five cities in California: Culver City, Laguna Beach, Ojai, Ventura, and West Hollywood.

Importantly, glue traps fail to address the root problem: if entryways aren’t sealed and food remains accessible to rodents, more move in to take the place of those who’ve been killed, creating an endless cycle of cruelty and violence. The Miami inspection report noted holes in the wall and ceiling near the drive-thru window—these structural issues are what need to be addressed for effective, long-term wildlife control.

We urge Dunkin’ to adopt a company-wide policy banning glue traps and require franchisees to do the same. Doing so would align with the overwhelming consensus that glue traps are inexcusably cruel, protect customer and employee health, and help ensure the only thing getting stuck at Dunkin’ is frosting on a donut, not animals on inhumane traps.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
President