Letter to the Editor: Rat Poisons and Wildlife

 Environment, March/April 2024  Comments Off on Letter to the Editor: Rat Poisons and Wildlife
Mar 012024
 
Letter to the Editor: Rat Poisons and Wildlife

Dear Representatives of the Select Board, Health Department, Department of Public Works, Facilities Department (Schools), and Conservation Commission; As local communities in and around Belmont wake up to the dangers of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) to children, wildlife, and pets, we see encouraging progress toward reducing and eliminating SGARs. We would like to share with you what is going on in neighboring towns in this regard as Save Belmont Wildlife seeks to work with our community to eliminate these poisons as part of a cross-community effort. We are working to prevent the further poisoning of Massachusetts birds of prey and [READ MORE]

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Local Activists Testify to Limit Rat Poisons

 Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter  Comments Off on Local Activists Testify to Limit Rat Poisons
Jun 302023
 
Local Activists Testify to Limit Rat Poisons

By Allison V. Lenk The morning we arrived to rally in front of the State House, we noticed two hawks circling the Boston Common. People excitedly pointed out when one of the hawks landed on the weathervane atop the Golden Dome of the State House. We optimistically decided it was a sign that the day’s testimony would make a positive difference in the cause to limit the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) which not only kill their intended target, but also sicken or kill birds of prey, other wildlife, pets, and even threaten the health of children. (See [READ MORE]

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Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors

 Environment, March/April 2023  Comments Off on Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors
Mar 012023
 
Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors

By Jeffrey North Eagles, owls, and hawks are dying. Of the 161 Massachusetts raptors tested at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in a study between 2006 and 2010, 86% had poison residues in their liver tissue. And according to the EPA, more than 10,000 kids are poisoned by toxic chemicals left around residences, restaurants, or public parks to poison rats.  Take action Proven tactics to address the problem with minimal or no rodenticide use include Integrated Pest Management plans, engaging housing authorities, affecting retail and construction site practices, and a rat poison bylaw. And please support legislation currently before the House (HD [READ MORE]

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How Can We Control Urban Rats?

 Environment, May/June 2022  Comments Off on How Can We Control Urban Rats?
May 082022
 
How Can We Control Urban Rats?

By Fred Bouchard Plague-ridden Saxony hired the legendary Pied Piper to toot rats out of Hamelin. Other age-old tactics—trapping, shooting, pan-banging—raise fresh collateral issues in densely populated areas, in addition to mess and noise. Chicago in recent years resorted to sniper stealth by siccing 1,000 neutered feral cats on its record rat population. Passive approaches to rat control yield slow results, as city-centric man confronts Rattus norvegicus, the world’s most populous and prolific urban mammal. Rat fertility is gaining ground as shorter, warmer winters encourage them to squeeze out an extra litter or three a year. Exterminators concur that the [READ MORE]

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How is Belmont Controlling Rodents?

 Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021  Comments Off on How is Belmont Controlling Rodents?
Nov 012021
 
How is Belmont Controlling Rodents?

By Jeffrey North Two bald eagles have died in Middlesex County this year from second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) poisoning in Arlington and Waltham. The causes of death in both cases, anticoagulant rodenticide, were confirmed by MassWildlife officials after postmortem testing at Tufts Wildlife Clinic.  Three different SGARs were detected in theirlivers.  These are among the first cases of poisoning in American bald eagles in Massachusetts. Yet such secondary poisoning has been documented in hawks, owls, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, dogs, and cats.  And thousands of children ingest or are otherwise harmfully exposed to these poisons every year. According to the EPA, [READ MORE]

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Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey

 Newsletter, November-December 2021  Comments Off on Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey
Nov 012021
 
Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey

Study finds 100% of tested red-tailed hawks at Tufts clinic exposed to rodenticides By Angela Nelson This article originally appeared in the September 16, 2020 issue of Tufts Now, and is reprinted with permission.  Maureen Murray, director of Tufts Wildlife Clinic and clinical associate professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, has been studying rodenticide exposure in birds of prey for over a decade. Exposure to rodenticides occurs when people use these chemicals to kill unwanted pests. Mice and rats, or possibly other animals, eat the poison, and then the birds eat the poisoned prey.  Murray has witnessed a steady [READ MORE]

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