Pest control methods used against rodents, foxes, moles, and other species frequently cause prolonged suffering that more humane alternatives could prevent.
Pest control represents a major but largely invisible source of animal suffering. Glue traps are among the cruellest methods available — animals may panic, tear off limbs trying to escape, and die slowly from stress, dehydration, or hypothermia over many hours or days. Anticoagulant rodenticides cause prolonged bleeding deaths and cascade through ecosystems. Yet alternatives exist: snap traps, exclusion, electronic traps providing instant kills, and fertility control for birds. Welfare-conscious pest management uses lethal methods only when necessary, chooses the most rapid methods available, and minimises non-target impacts.