Living in Harmony With Wildlife
We cause our wild neighbours far more trouble than
they cause us, as each day we invade thousands
of acres of their territory, destroy their homes and kill
them or their family members. For every perceived
conflict with wildlife, there is a humane solution.
Trapping, poisoning, using glue traps and employing
other cruel wildlife “control” methods cause animals
terrible, needless suffering.
Animals who are caught in steel-jaw traps can suffer
for days before succumbing to exposure, shock or
attacks by predators, and traps often maim or kill
“non-target” animals, including dogs and
endangered species. Poisons attack animals’
nervous systems, causing them to endure seizures,
vomiting and tremors for hours before dying.
And the screaming of ensnared rodents is extremely
upsetting to people who are then unsure of how to
“dispose” of these living creatures. Glue-trap
manufacturers generally direct consumers to throw
animals in the trash along with the trap, leaving the
victims to suffer for days until they finally die of
starvation, dehydration or stress – a horrible fate.
These methods are cruel, and they rarely have any
lasting effect. As long as an area is appealing and
accessible, more animals from surrounding areas will
simply move in to take the place of those who were
killed. Surviving animals often have a “baby boom”
to replenish the population. Cruel wildlife control
methods result in an endless trap-and-kill cycle.
One of the cruellest methods of killing animals that
exists today is the glue trap. These devices consist of
pieces of cardboard, fibreboard or plastic coated
with a sticky adhesive designed to ensnare any
small animal who wanders across or lands on their
surface.
Trapped rodents and other animals suffer
immeasurably during the days that it takes for them
to die. Glue traps rip patches of skin, fur and feathers
off the animals’ bodies as they struggle to escape,
and many animals even chew off their own legs
trying to get free. Some animals get their faces stuck
in the glue and suffocate, which can take hours.
Factory Farming: Cruelty to Animals
they are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter. The
green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years
past are now distant memories.
On today’s factory farms, animals are crammed by
the thousands into filthy, windowless sheds and
confined to wire cages, gestation crates, barren
dirt lots and other cruel confinement systems. These
animals will never raise their families, root around in
the soil, build nests or do anything else that is natural
and important to them. Most won’t even feel the
sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day
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The factory-farming industry strives to maximise
output while minimising costs, always at the
animals’ expense. The giant corporations that run
most factory farms have found that they can make
more money by cramming animals into tiny spaces,
even though many of the animals get sick and some
die. Cows, goats, calves, pigs, chickens, ducks,
geese and other animals live in extremely stressful
conditions:
• They are kept in small cages or jam-packed sheds
or on filthy feedlots, often with so little space that
they can’t even turn around or lie down
comfortably.