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D-Con Be Gone | Audubon Magazine
D-Con Be Gone
California bans rat poisons that are killing the state's birds, but the fight isn't over.
By Jane Braxton Little
Published: July-August 2014
Rats accomplished what common sense could not. Raptors Are The Solution, a San Francisco Bay Area-based network of nonprofit groups organized by Lisa Viani and including Audubon, scientists, and state and local governments, persuaded the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to ban over-the-counter sales of powerful anticoagulant rat poisons like d-CON. Every year the poisons, which deplete the body of vitamin K, a nutrient necessary for blood clotting, kill thousands of birds of prey that devour tainted rodents; kit foxes, wild pigs, and Pacific fishers have fallen to the poisons, too. It can take several days for victims to bleed to death.
The statewide restrictions will slash the number of poisons available over the counter to homeowners and provide a process for government agencies to respond more effectively to incidents of wildlife exposure, helping the very animals that naturally help curb rodent populations, says Stella McMillin, a wildlife investigator with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "This is huge," she says. "It addresses the biggest wildlife problem we have in relation to pesticides."
To achieve these groundbreaking limits, RATS pressured state agencies by papering subways with posters of dying Red-shouldered Hawks and Barn Owls and by promoting videos of stricken wildlife on social media. "If people know about the impacts, they will choose an alternative for rodent control," says Nancy Wenninger, Mt. Diablo Audubon conservation chair. Her Audubon chapter, along with 16 others and Audubon's California state office, helped with the statewide grassroots effort, from Facebook posts to letter-writing.
The restrictions, which take effect July 1, are a crucial first step. Still, legal challenges await.
I've seen many raptors die in rehab of poisoning. If you put out poison for rodents, you are also poisoning many other animals.
Use snap traps. They're quick and humane and kill only one animal. Better yet, don't try to kill rodents yourself. Instead, encourage birds of prey and snakes - both of whom do the dirty work for you.
D-Con Be Gone
California bans rat poisons that are killing the state's birds, but the fight isn't over.
By Jane Braxton Little
Published: July-August 2014
Rats accomplished what common sense could not. Raptors Are The Solution, a San Francisco Bay Area-based network of nonprofit groups organized by Lisa Viani and including Audubon, scientists, and state and local governments, persuaded the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to ban over-the-counter sales of powerful anticoagulant rat poisons like d-CON. Every year the poisons, which deplete the body of vitamin K, a nutrient necessary for blood clotting, kill thousands of birds of prey that devour tainted rodents; kit foxes, wild pigs, and Pacific fishers have fallen to the poisons, too. It can take several days for victims to bleed to death.
The statewide restrictions will slash the number of poisons available over the counter to homeowners and provide a process for government agencies to respond more effectively to incidents of wildlife exposure, helping the very animals that naturally help curb rodent populations, says Stella McMillin, a wildlife investigator with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "This is huge," she says. "It addresses the biggest wildlife problem we have in relation to pesticides."
To achieve these groundbreaking limits, RATS pressured state agencies by papering subways with posters of dying Red-shouldered Hawks and Barn Owls and by promoting videos of stricken wildlife on social media. "If people know about the impacts, they will choose an alternative for rodent control," says Nancy Wenninger, Mt. Diablo Audubon conservation chair. Her Audubon chapter, along with 16 others and Audubon's California state office, helped with the statewide grassroots effort, from Facebook posts to letter-writing.
The restrictions, which take effect July 1, are a crucial first step. Still, legal challenges await.
I've seen many raptors die in rehab of poisoning. If you put out poison for rodents, you are also poisoning many other animals.
Use snap traps. They're quick and humane and kill only one animal. Better yet, don't try to kill rodents yourself. Instead, encourage birds of prey and snakes - both of whom do the dirty work for you.
