Lowe’s responds to PETA

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights organization, is targeting Lowe’s with store demonstrations and an e-mail campaign to protest the retailer’s sale of mice glue traps. Calling them “the cruelest pest-control devices on the market today,” PETA claims that the traps cause rodents and other small animals -- including birds, squirrels and even small pets -- to suffer for days before dying of dehydration and starvation.

In an e-mail message, Lowe's spokeswoman Maureen Rich wrote: "We listened to PETA's concerns and changed our merchandise offering to cut in half the number of glue traps we offer. To give our customers a choice, Lowe’s offers 20 different products, from poisons to snap and glue traps to electronic systems."

Rich added that the EPA recommends glue traps as a safe and affordable alternative to poisons.

Demonstrations last week in Florida and Georgia involved PETA activists lying in giant glue traps in front of Lowe’s stores. The organization is also orchestrating a campaign to send e-mails to Robert Niblock, Lowe’s CEO, and Patti Price, a senior vp.

PETA representatives have also spoken out against glue traps at Home Depot’s shareholder meetings. According to PETA’s Web site, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Albertsons and Safeway have all pulled glue traps off their shelves and agreed to stop selling them.