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Snake stuck on glue board handed over to humane society By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 5 · Friday, May 7, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com A garter snake, stuck to a glue board and an attached note that read, "I found this in the park, please help it..." The day is never certain -- or necessarily upbeat -- when staff go to work at the Oakville and Milton District Humane Society. Wednesday was busy. Not only had an overnight call come in about a second fox pup stranded in the Sixteen-Mile Creek ravine, but the garter snake that had been caught on a glue board was left on the society's doorstep with the note attached. "We are concerned as the glue trap was left in a park where it could have trapped any number of wildlife. The board was fairly large and could have trapped a squirrel, mouse, baby wildlife or more," said humane society fund development manager Brenda Dushko. "The snake was left on our front desk. Though the finder did not speak to anyone, he did leave a brief note," said Deb Gray, a humane society animal health care technician who said the snake was found in the woods of a park in Glen Abbey. The boards are commonly sold as a control method for nuisance wildlife, like mice, in people's homes. "Since the snake, glue board and all, was discovered in the middle of a main trail, at the start of the trail, it is more likely that someone had the trap set in their house for pests (mice), INHUMANE: This garter snake was trapped on a glue board left in a public park. caught the snake by mistake and took it to the park to let it `go free,'" said Hugh Coghill, manager of animal protective services for the humane society. "These traps are cruel, trapping the animal, which may die trying to remove itself from the trap or of starvation, if the trap is not checked," said Dushko. The humane society staff was working with the snake and a lot of mineral oil in attempts to gently remove it from the trap Wednesday. According to Gray, when an animal gets caught on a glue board, it will struggle greatly, which usually means more of its body gets stuck on the glue. "If the traps are left unattended, the animal will either starve to death, or die of infection or cause such injury to itself in its attempt to free itself that it will die, possibly of internal injuries. They can break bones and tear their innards in their bid for freedom," said Gray. And it only gets worse. "If they are able, they will chew off limbs, again in an attempt to gain their freedom. In summary, it is a very slow and painful process," said Gray. Upon finding such an incident, Gray said an organization like the humane society will work to remove the animal as safely as possible from the adhesive, then assess the damage to the animal with the hope of rehabilitation. If it does not have the capability, then it sends the animal to an appropriate rehabilitation facility. "Animals that are considered `pests' like mice, rats, bugs, etc. seem to have little protection under the law. In similar incidents, when we have had an accused person, we have taken our evidence to the Crown to see if they will agree to a prosecution. So far, no luck," said Coghill. "It would be an interesting test case to charge someone under the revised OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Act. If a conviction followed, it would make efforts to ban these traps easier. At this point, the general feeling is that we need to get some more, solid convictions under the revised legislation." 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