While most of Gainesville was trying to stay warm and dry Monday afternoon, Carmen Cusack was lying on a giant mousetrap wearing only a bikini, heels and a pair of mouse ears.
Cusack, a volunteer with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was one of about a dozen activists who stood outside the Lowe's on Northwest 13th Street from noon to 1 p.m. protesting the company's sale of glue mousetraps.
"All I could think about while I was lying there freezing was that there are mice all over Gainesville in the same position," she said. "But PETA's going to buy me lunch, and those animals are going to starve."
The demonstration was one of five stops this week on PETA's tour of Lowe's stores across Florida and Georgia.
Animals stuck in these traps often suffer for days, eventually dying of dehydration and starvation, said Ashley Byrne, PETA campaign coordinator. Many animals chew off their own limbs in a desperate attempt to break free.
"Even kittens and hamsters have gotten stuck in them," Byrne said of the traps.
According to Byrne, Lowe's is one of a shrinking number of stores who still sell glue traps instead of more humane options like box traps, which capture the animals alive and allow for release.
"Before we started this campaign, we spoke to Lowe's and asked them to take these products off the shelves," she said, "but they refused."
Lowe's manager Tom Bragdon declined to comment on the demonstration or Lowe's' position on glue traps.
Tommasina Miller, president of Animal Activists of Alachua, held signs along with other club members in support of PETA's campaign, but said she didn't agree with its methods.
"Our philosophy is to educate and reach out to the public, which I feel like simply holding signs can do," she said. "I don't think objectifying women or having (Cusack) lying around in the freezing rain is necessary."
Although Animal Activists of Alachua, an on-campus animal rights group, is not affiliated with PETA, the organization wants to encourage Lowe's to stop selling the traps, Miller said.
Gainesville resident Mike Foust, however, said the demonstration was unique and effective.
Foust said that though he does use animal traps, the demonstration would make him less likely to use glue traps.
"Any time you put a cute female like that out in the street," he said, "you're going to get attention."
