<
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-10-01/california-enacts-unprecedented-ban-on-rat-poisons>
"California has become the first state in the nation to restrict use of all
blood-thinning rat poisons due to their unintended effect on mountain lions,
birds of prey and other animals.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill that expands an existing moratorium to
all anticoagulant rodenticides, with only limited exceptions. The poisons
prevent an animal’s blood from clotting and cause it to die from internal
bleeding. When an unsuspecting mountain lion or owl gobbles a dead or sick rat
— or another animal that ate a tainted rat — the toxic substance can be passed
on.
Wildlife advocates hailed the new law — set to go into effect Jan. 1 — as an
important step toward protecting non-target animals. However, agricultural and
pest-control groups derided the measure as a potential public health issue that
sidestepped the state’s regulatory process.
“I’m so proud that California is leading the way in protecting wildlife from
these harmful and unnecessary poisons,” said J.P. Rose, urban wildlands policy
director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which sponsored AB 2552. “I
think we can all agree that unintentionally poisoning native wildlife is
wrong.”
A 2023 California Department of Fish and Wildlife report found that roughly 88%
of raptors and 90% of pumas tested had been exposed to the poisons. Birds of
prey — and American kestrels in particular — have been significantly harmed by
chlorophacinone, one of two poisons targeted in the law, according to Lisa
Owens Viani, director of Raptors Are the Solution, a co-sponsor of the bill."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-california-rat-poison-law-mountain-lions/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
