Glue Traps (Offences) Bill

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

2nd reading
Friday 25th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, I echo the thanks around the House to my noble friend Lady Fookes for her sponsorship of this important Bill, and for the powerful manner in which she made her case. I am also very grateful to noble Lords’ invaluable contributions in today’s debate. Like others, I pay tribute to my honourable friend Jane Stevenson, the Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton North East, who successfully steered this Bill through another place with passion and clarity. I also pay tribute to the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation for its support as we progress this important legislation.

I confess that I have been a legislator, in one form or another, for around 17 years, and, in a way, I am quite shocked that we are getting to this only now. I am as horrified as other Members of this House by the nature of this type of pest control, and I am delighted that we are doing something about it at last.

As noble Lords are no doubt aware by now, glue traps cause extreme suffering. As has been said, the British Veterinary Association reports that animals can suffer from

“torn skin, broken limbs and hair removal and die a slow and painful death from suffocation, starvation, exhaustion and even”—

an horrendous concept—

“self-mutilation”.

Furthermore, a study published in the journal Animal Welfare earlier this year concluded that glue traps are one of the very worst methods of rodent management when it comes to their impact on welfare.

I always remember a pest controller telling me why he only used humane traps. He said that it was not the rat’s fault that it is a pain in the—he used a word which is probably not acceptable in Parliament, so I will use another—neck. His point was absolutely right. We must remember that there are often very good reasons for controlling pests, but we must do so in a way which is as humane as possible. The findings that we have discussed today support the British Veterinary Association reports which add that:

“rats may die of exhaustion or suffocation, are unable to perform normal behaviours and are likely to cause fear, anxiety and pain.”

While we can all agree that rodent control is essential, I hope that we can also agree that it should not lead to undue suffering. As has been said, it is not just the intended victims which suffer. There have been over 200 incidents reported to the RSPCA over a five-year period involving some species which are rare, including hedgehogs, squirrels and even a parrot. Victims of these traps have suffered horrendous injuries, many of which may have been fatal. Some of us are no doubt all too familiar with the tragic case of Miles, a black and white cat found in an alleyway in north London last year with four glue traps stuck to him, and with injuries so severe that the only humane choice was to end his life. This is just one of many disturbing incidents which ended with unnecessary animal suffering and unnecessary distress for members of the public who do not anticipate the poor welfare conditions which are likely to come from amateur use of such means.

That brings me on to the purpose of the Bill: to recognise the immense suffering that glue traps can cause and to take them out of the hands of amateurs. This Bill will ensure that glue traps are used only by professional pest controllers, and only in very limited circumstances when they are needed to preserve public health and safety and there is no other tool suitable for the job. This measure is a proportionate step which strikes the right balance between protecting animal welfare and preserving human health. With more humane traps readily available, it is therefore right to ban these traps in all but the most exceptional circumstances.

My officials have had early discussions with the pest control industry to establish when these traps may be needed. The feedback has been that rodents are often cautious of changes to their surroundings and may avoid approaching unfamiliar objects, such as more traditional mouse and rat traps. However, due to the way a glue trap is set, it may capture rodents more quickly than other methods. For this reason, professional pest controllers may need to use glue traps for the very rare situations when rapid speed of capture is important and a delay may cause a serious risk to public health or safety. An example is the possible need for rapid removal of rodents from places with—as my noble friend Lady Fookes said so eloquently—critical infrastructure involving wiring and electrics where there is a danger of gnawing damage and, in extremis, fire. Another possible example is a mouse being spotted in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft. In this case, the mouse must be caught quickly as there is a real risk to public safety if wiring is damaged. Other rodent traps may be harder to position in this case and use of glue traps may allow the mouse to be caught more quickly than using other methods.

For such rare cases where these traps are needed, a licensing regime will be required. This has been set out in the Bill and will enable such traps to be used only by professional pest controllers and only when absolutely necessary. The wording of the Bill is clear that licences may be granted only for the purpose of preserving public health or public safety and where there is no other satisfactory solution. Licences will also place conditions on the use of traps to minimise any detrimental welfare impacts. The licensing regime will allow for the scale of use of glue traps by pest controllers to be monitored and for the inspection of authorised pest controllers to ensure compliance with the terms of licences, allowing enforcement action to be taken if terms are breached.

The two-year lead-in period has been discussed by noble Lords. This period before the offences apply will give adequate time to put a suitable licensing regime in place. We look forward to working closely with animal welfare groups and pest control organisations to ensure that the licensing regime is appropriate and effective.

While some may claim that this Bill could lead to problems with rodent infestations, the experience in other countries does not support this. Both in Ireland and New Zealand, where these traps have been banned, we are not aware of any experience of increases in rodent infestations. The pest control industry in both countries appears to have successfully and easily moved to the use of alternatives.

I will quickly go through some of the questions put to me by speakers in today’s debate. The question regarding Ireland and New Zealand is an interesting one. Ireland has a full ban and New Zealand has allowed exemptions by ministerial approval, such as we are proposing, from the outset. Approved exemptions have declined year on year and are now in very small numbers—single figures—per year, which I think will be reflected here when we implement this legislation.

A question was asked about why are we not banning glue traps in their entirety. I think that I covered that in terms of the cases, in extremis, where life and limb and public health may be put at risk.

I will not goad the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, about who is world-leading—she is right that we are not world-leading on this, but it is high time that we did this. We might be UK leading, as we are doing this before Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but we will work with the devolved Administrations to make sure that we are sharing, best practice, licensing and all the rest of it.

The two-year delay is an issue; I understand that. I will reflect the mood of the House on that in my discussions with officials and in the process of implementing this legislation.

My noble friend Lord Bourne asked why we are not banning the sale of glue traps. Under the UK internal market rules, it is not practical to ban the sale of glue traps in England as they could still be purchased elsewhere in the UK. However, as we discussed, legislation may be impending in those countries. Glue traps also need to be sold to pest controllers under exceptional use licences. We expect a ban on their use to be effective as existing stocks of glue traps are used up over the two-year lead-in time. It should become impossible for the wrong kind of people to obtain them after then. We will engage with the devolved Administrations, as I say, as they progress this legislation.

My noble friend also asked what the Government will do to educate businesses and the public regarding the change to the law so that unnecessary persons are not buying traps that they cannot legally use. In the two years before the offences come into force, the Government will work with stakeholders, including pest control and animal welfare organisations, to educate businesses and the public about the ban on the use of glue traps and the use of alternative, humane traps. We note that, after the Humane Society’s “Unstuck” campaign, also supported by the British Pest Control Association and the RSPCA, many retailers have withdrawn these traps from general sale on welfare grounds. We also expect that, in response to the ban, large importers of glue traps will begin importing fewer of them and offering more alternatives as part of their business planning, so that the market for glue traps will dry up.

There is no indication that the ban on the sale of glue traps will be detrimental to human health. Other humane methods are available; we want to encourage people to use them through both good practice and this legislation.

A question was asked about licensing. We currently expect the public authority delegated with the licensing functions to be Natural England, as it already fulfils this function for other licences relating to wildlife management. However, there may be a change in the remit and responsibilities of Natural England and other public bodies in future, so the provision in the Bill to appoint any competent public authority is needed.

We have been clear that high standards of animal welfare are one of the hallmarks of a civilised society. We already have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world. This Bill takes forward an important commitment in the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare

“to restrict the use of glue traps … to help make sure rodents are despatched in a humane manner.”

As I conclude on behalf of the Government by thanking noble Lords for their involvement in today’s debate, in particular my noble friend Lady Fookes for her work in guiding the Bill through this House, I also thank the animal welfare organisations, pest control organisations and suppliers who have engaged with my officials throughout the passage of the Bill. The Bill will add a small but vital part to our animal welfare legislation. I hope that we can ensure its smooth passage through this House.

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords, in turn, I thank all those who took part in this debate. I also thank the Minister. I was much encouraged by most of his remarks. The old schoolteacher in me says, “Seven out of 10”.

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I will take that.

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

One query about bodies corporate was not answered by the Minister. My understanding is that this is simply to ensure that corporations cannot get away with it because they are corporations and so can give the blame to somebody else, which is why there is a reference to particular senior people in a corporation who would have to take the blame if anything happened.

The noble Baroness made another point, which I did not quite get, but which related to the paragraphs about inspectors on premises. I know these look rather detailed, but the idea is to make sure that nobody has any wiggle room. They perhaps rather overegg the pudding, but better that than to underegg, in the circumstances.

I very much hope that the Bill goes through unamended, because of the danger that it would otherwise be lost altogether. I will be closely following the speed with which the department acts in dealing with these matters and the care that it takes in drawing up the conditions attached to licences. I forewarn my noble friend the Minister that I will be after him if progress does not seem satisfactory.