WASHINGTON: The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have awarded the New York City Police Department (NYPD) over its use of humane mousetraps. The Compassion Award was given after the department changed from one kind of trap to a more humane method of pushing out a mice infestation at the department's headquarters. Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA's vice president said that due to the NYPD's decision to stop using the “exceedingly cruel devices, many mice, birds, and other small animals will be spared a tarrying, prolonged and painful death.” The NYPD initially employed glue traps to capture the mice, which had shown up at their headquarters in lower Manhattan. PETA allegedly was tipped off over the use of the traps and contacted Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to urge him to use a different method. Kelly surprisingly was willing to look into alternative solutions and removed the use of the traps. New York resident and animal activist Howard Clayton told Bikya Masr that he was both “surprised” and “relieved” to see the police department go a different route than killing innocent mice. “It is a nice piece of news to see a police department accept advice on how to push the mice out of the building without using horrible death traps,” he added. BM
