PEI

Vet college warns of dangers of glue traps after pigeon saved

An injured pigeon has been nursed back to health by staff at the Atlantic Vet College Wildlife Service after it was found in downtown Charlottetown in July covered in a thick, sticky substance.

Vet college warns against use of sticky traps to control pests

A pigeon found covered in glue had to be washed with soap and oil to remove it. (Submitted by Maia Courtenay)

An injured pigeon has been nursed back to health by staff at the Atlantic Vet College Wildlife Service after it was found in downtown Charlottetown in July covered in a thick, sticky substance. 

The vet college is now warning about the dangers of glue traps and other sticky products. 

AVC wildlife technician Fiep de Bie says a glue trap is likely the cause of the bird's misfortune but she said it's also possible it got into glue from a glue gun.

She hopes people will consider other ways to keep pests away so something like this doesn't happen again. 

Use other traps

"You can think about prevention...closing off areas, not having food around," said de Bie. "But of course if you have a pest control problem, I would talk to a professional and there are more sophisticated snap traps there that kill animals instantly, instead of having them suffer." 

A pigeon that was found covered in what appeared to be glue has been saved by staff at the Atlantic Vet College. (Submitted by Fiep de Bie)

The bird was treated with oils and soap and its wings were trimmed back to get rid of the parts that were stuck together. 

"Obviously being completely covered in glue and not being able to move was very stressful to him." 

The vet college had to wait for the pigeon to grow back the new feathers before it could be released. 

De Bie said the bird was released back into the wild last week and is doing well. 

With files from Stephanie Kelly