Following years of pressure from conservation, public-health, and animal-welfare groups, Reckitt Benckiser, the company that makes d-Con rat and mouse poison, has agreed today to stop producing the product for off-the-shelf purchase. Reckitt Benckiser had been challenging a decision by the EPA to limit the sale of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, but decided to give up. The company will still make the poisons available for bulk sales to agricultural users and by licensed pest-control operators. Production will end later this year, and no product will be on shelves by April of next year.
Thank goodness. I worked as a horse trainer for a ranch that actively encouraged me to bring my vermin dogs to work with me.
ReplyDeleteMy only requirement was that no poison be put down in the barns.
While moving hay I found D-con set up under the pallets.
The argument? It was out of my dogs reach and my explanation that they could ingest it by eating a rodent with a belly full of the stuff was false.
"The guy at the co-op said it was perfectly safe."
Thank goodness. I worked as a horse trainer for a ranch that actively encouraged me to bring my vermin dogs to work with me.
ReplyDeleteMy only requirement was that no poison be put down in the barns.
While moving hay I found D-con set up under the pallets.
The argument? It was out of my dogs reach and my explanation that they could ingest it by eating a rodent with a belly full of the stuff was false.
"The guy at the co-op said it was perfectly safe."
As a falconer and abatement falconer, I am certainly glad of this news. I read on a site: www.raptorsarethesolution.org that there are safer alternatives that do not have secondary poisoning problem for rodent control. I was on an abatement assignment and on my morning walk around I found a dead rat, likely killed by the rodenticide (commercial type) bait box that I saw around the area. I disposed of it quickly, luckily my hawks were not up flying at that time. The sooner we eliminate warfarin based rodenticides in all uses. The better off our wildlife will be.
ReplyDelete