Dead owls are piling up in my freezer: Perth scientists take a stand

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Three West Australians led a delegation of starring biology scientists who marched connected Parliament House successful Canberra connected Thursday to request stronger restrictions connected the merchantability and usage of toxic rodent baits.

Five second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides known arsenic SGARs, commonly recovered successful big-brand hardware stores, are presently approved for usage successful Australia by Australia’s pesticide regulator.

Environmental scientists Damian Lettoof, Michael Pawlyshyn, Mike Lohr (ECU), Robert Davis (ECU) and John White (Deakin University) conscionable astatine the bureau of Senator David Pocock.

Rats and different rodents tin ingest a lethal dose successful a azygous feeding, making these poisons substantially much potent than their first-generation counterparts.

As they are dilatory to interruption down, they airs a higher hazard of poisoning to the non-target animals that devour the rodents – often autochthonal mammals and nighttime birds specified arsenic owls.

It is the archetypal clip zoologists, ecologists and biology scientists from astir Australia – including Edith Cowan University, Decan University and University of Tasmania elder lecturers – person gathered to lobby against second-generation products astatine the parliamentary level.

Spearheaded by Edith Cowan schoolhouse of subject lecturers, Dr Robert Davis and Dr Michael Lohr, the radical says authorities leaders and the regulator, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, are ignoring grounds that these poisons person a prevalent and lasting interaction connected WA’s nutrient chain.

“My laboratory has pioneered astir of the Australian enactment showing that usage of rat and rodent baits containing the alleged second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, similar brodifacum and bromadiolone, is starring to wide contamination of the nutrient chain,” Davis said.

“The enactment of our laboratory and 2 different colleagues person recovered vulnerability successful predatory birds, omnivorous birds, snakes, shingleback lizards, frogs, possums and carnivorous marsupials.

“The much we look, the much we find.

“The subject is each in, and it is thorough – yet we are not being listened to.”

Australia is 1 of the past countries to prohibition oregon tightly modulate the usage of archetypal and 2nd procreation anticoagulant rodenticides.

Night birds similar the masked owl are dying aft eating mice and rats that person ingested anticoagulant rodenticides.

The British Pest Control Association made the usage of immoderate SCAR products to dainty rodent infestation not wrong a gathering amerciable arsenic precocious arsenic July 4.

“The APVMA has antecedently resisted each calls to modulate these products successful Australia and yet, the dormant owls are piling up successful my laboratory freezer – virtually 20 successful the past 2 weeks,” Davis said.

“Other countries necessitate monitoring of the biodiversity impacts, mandatory screening for poisoning successful dormant wildlife and a agelong database of regulations.”

The APVMA began a reappraisal into anticoagulant rodenticides successful precocious 2021 to reassess the risks and to see if labels person capable instructions to support the wellness and information of people, animals and the environment.

The probe is presently successful the technological appraisal signifier with a projected determination expected to beryllium published earlier the extremity of 2024, followed by a three-month consultation period.

After Thursday’s meeting, a spokesperson told WAtoday the authorization applied rigorous technological hazard assessments of products earlier they went to marketplace and continuously monitored each grounds and credible technological reports.

“After a merchandise oregon progressive constituent is registered, if grounds emerges connected the imaginable for a substance to airs an undue hazard to non-target species, the APVMA takes this precise earnestly and cautiously considers this grounds erstwhile determining due regulatory action,” they said.

“Based connected concerns identified some done the published lit and done a nationalist consultation, the APVMA initiated a reconsideration of some first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides.

“The APVMA welcomed the accidental to conscionable with the scientists successful Canberra yesterday and look guardant to their aboriginal input to the reconsideration.”

The determination against the usage of the toxic baits has precocious gained traction astatine the grassroots level with section governments successful Margaret River, Fremantle and Mundaring adopting “owl friendly” programs.

The City of Fremantle Council voted successful June to usage alternate methods of pest power to support pets and autochthonal wildlife.