THE RSPCA is warning of the dangers of glue traps following the death of a robin after getting stuck on a sticky board.

These shocking pictures showing the charity’s animal rescuers at the RSPCA's West Hatch centre battling to save the bird’s life highlight the damage caused by glue traps.

The robin was found near Buckfastleigh, in Devon, before being rescued by an RSPCA officer, who rushed it to West Hatch.

Staff did everything they could to try to remove glue from the bird’s feathers, legs and beak but were unable to save it.

The traps, also known as glue boards or sticky traps, feature a sheet of cardboard, plastic or wood coated with non-drying adhesive.

They are currently legal and generally used to catch rodents.

The animal charity is encouraging people not to set glue traps because of the dangers they pose to wildlife and even pets.

A Private Members' Bill progressing through Parliament aims to make certain uses of glue traps illegal in England.

The RSPCA received 236 reports of glue trap incidents from 2016 to 2020 involving animals including cats, garden birds, hedgehogs, squirrels and a parrot.

Less than 27 per cent of animals involved in incidents seen by the RSPCA were rodents, with the rest involving non-target species such as pets and other wild animals, many of which were too badly injured to survive.

Adam Grogan, RSPCA head of wild animal science and policy, said: “We’re opposed to the manufacture, sale and use of all glue traps because they cause unacceptable suffering and are totally indiscriminate in what they catch, ensnaring wild animals like birds and even pets.

“Glue traps may seem like an effective way to catch rodents without killing them, but they come with very serious welfare issues and subject those animals unfortunate enough to get caught to horrific suffering. Even the way they’re designed to catch animals – by sticking their limbs to the board as they cross it – inflicts pain and distress."

Despite the current lack of any legal restriction on who can purchase and use these traps, any animal caught in a glue trap is protected under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. If an animal suffers unnecessarily as a result of inappropriate or poor use of the trap, or through a failure to release or kill the animal in an appropriate way, an offence may have been committed.