Dear Editor: Please allow me to clarify some statements in your articles about PETA's complaint with the Federal Trade Commission regarding Motomco's claims on its glue trap packaging.

In August 2008, at PETA's request, the FTC opened an investigation against Motomco because the company misled customers by claiming the eugenol in its glue traps was an anesthetic. Eugenol only works as an anesthetic when it is directly injected into the bloodstream or pumped into the stomach. It doesn't make animal deaths on glue traps any less agonizing. It can cause animals to suffer more by causing a painful burning sensation, nausea, and vomiting.

After the FTC contacted Motomco, the company decided to change the wording on its packaging, eliminating misleading claims that eugenol makes the traps more humane. Since Motomco removed the false wording, the FTC closed the investigation without needing to take any enforcement action.

This case leaves no doubt that glue traps are terribly cruel. More and more people and retailers are refusing to buy or sell these devices, which cause panicked animals to struggle against the adhesive, tearing flesh and breaking bones, only to die from shock, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss.

There's no need to resort to this cruelty when we can easily keep mice and rats out humanely and permanently by rodent proofing. Visit www.HelpingWildlife.com to learn how.

Tracy Reiman

executive vice president, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Norfolk, Va.