At the upcoming May Town Meeting, members will vote on a warrant article requesting that the Select Board file a Home Rule Petition with the Massachusetts Legislature. This petition would grant Belmont the authority to prohibit or restrict the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) within town limits. Once the authorization has been granted, a bylaw or other rodenticide restrictions will be presented to future sessions of Town Meeting for approval.
SGARs are potent rodenticides that disrupt blood clotting, causing prolonged internal bleeding in rodents. However, these poisons also have unintended and harmful effects on Belmont’s wildlife. Predators such as hawks, owls, eagles, and foxes that consume poisoned rodents frequently suffer secondary poisoning, leading to illness and death. Studies have shown that SGARs are a major threat to raptor populations, weakening natural rodent control efforts (healthy raptors will eat a great number of rodents) and disrupting local ecosystems.
Currently, Massachusetts law preempts municipalities from regulating pesticides, meaning that Belmont cannot enact its own restrictions on SGAR use. By passing this warrant article, the town would seek special legislation to grant it the authority to implement local regulations on these toxic chemicals.
If the warrant article passes at the Town Meeting, the Home Rule Petition would then require approval from the Massachusetts Legislature before becoming law. The resulting law would allow but not oblige Belmont to adopt its own new rules and restrictions on the use of SGARs.
Belmont has already joined other communities that are advocating for safer, more sustainable pest control methods and adopting sustainable, environmentally responsible pest control measures. Integrated Pest Management techniques—such as habitat modification, proper waste management, and the use of non-toxic deterrents—offer effective alternatives to chemical rodenticides while protecting wildlife and public health.
No ban, bylaw, or other codified rodenticide restrictions are being requested from Town Meeting at this time.
Residents concerned about SGARs’ impact on Belmont’s environment and biodiversity are encouraged to support this initiative. For more information on efforts in Belmont, including ways to reduce rodent problems without harming wildlife, visit Save Belmont Wildlife on the Sustainable Belmont website.
And for more information including initiatives across Massachusetts, see the Campaign to Rescue Raptors on the MA Audubon website
A broad movement
As of February 1, 2025, Mass Audubon knows of 21 towns and cities (including Boston!) that have reduced the use of SGARs on municipal property.
These reductions are sometimes via policy and not codified into bylaw/ordinance.
These reductions are not always a ban. Sometimes, the municipality may still be using some SGARs in certain locations but have removed them in other areas.
Mass Audubon knows of six towns and cities that have filed (or will soon file) home rule petitions to request authority to restrict SGARs on private property: Newton, Newbury, Orleans, Brookline, Eastham, and Wellfleet. At least six towns and cities are working on passing these home rule petitions this spring: Arlington, Kingston, Lexington, Belmont, Winchester, and Grafton.
To Mass Audubon’s knowledge, there are 66 community groups organizing to reduce the use of SGARs in towns and cities across the state.
Source: Mass Audubon Rescue Raptors Toolkit
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