‘Barbaric’: Outrage over popular product sold at Bunnings

Bunnings is under pressure to pull a popular product from its shelves as public outrage grows for one reason.

Wildlife advocates are calling on retail giant Bunnings to stop selling sticky traps, saying they are inadvertently catching native animals and causing lingering, cruel deaths.

Wild Animals Australia’s Cat Coake said carers have responded to hundreds of native animals caught on the traps, intended to catch insects and rodents.

“It’s a constant thing we see all the time,” Ms Coake said.

“They just die because they get stuck on these things.

“It’s just barbaric and we’re asking Bunnings as a corporation to take some environmental responsibility.

“They’re the biggest sellers of this stuff.”

A kookaburra caught on a sticky trap. Source: RSPCA Qld

Microbats and small birds are the biggest victims but even snakes, kookaburras and kittens have been snared by the traps.

Many have to be put to sleep because they’re dehydrated, have broken bones, patches of skin, fur or feathers ripped off or are dying when rescuers get to them, Ms Coake said.

“If an animal gets stuck on it and manages to get themselves off, say for example, a bird, that bird can’t fly because it’s covered in glue, so it’s down on the ground to be eaten and if it gets stuck on a glue trap it can take days for those things to die,” she added.

“It’s horrific.”

A bird caught on a sticky trap. Source: Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

The traps are available in various sizes, depending on laws in different states, but even smaller traps such as those for sale in Victoria are inadvertently trapping wildlife, even if they are said to contain lower strength glue, Ms Coake said.

“We’ve got a lot of images to suggest that vertebrates, lizards and small birds get stuck on those things,” she said.

A change.org petition calling on Bunnings to stop stocking glue traps has garnered more than 5000 signatures.

“It’s just one product that causes a lot of problems and they could easily remove,” Ms Coake said.

“They can make a bloody big difference

“In addition to that, we’re in 2022. There’s way easier and more humane ways to kill, whether it be insects, rats whatever.”

A collage of native animals caught in sticky traps. Source: Wild Animals Australia

Bunnings says the sticky traps it sells are designed for insect capture as the glue used is designed to be of lesser strength so it cannot capture birds or mammals.

The retailer’s general manager of merchandise, Adrian Pearce, said it’s careful to ensure its insect traps for sale meet government standards across all states and territories.

“Most of the sticky insect traps we offer are designed for indoor use only, and the product packaging clearly reflects this,” Mr Pearce said.

“Like other retailers, we offer a range of insect control products - including sticky insect traps and non-sticky insect traps, such as the Envirosafe fly trap or Gepro Milk Bottle fly trap.

“However, we do not sell glue traps designed to catch rodents which we understand can be purchased at other retailers.”

Bunnings continued to closely follow the advice of Agriculture Victoria, other state regulatory bodies, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and work with its suppliers to innovate in this area, Mr Pearce said.

A blue tongue lizard affected by the traps. Source: Sydney Wildlife Rescue