Heather Hughes

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) were created because earlier poisons stopped working as rodents developed resistance. These toxins cause the mouse or rat to slowly bleed internally over several days. The animal often becomes weak, disoriented, thirsty, and unable to escape danger while suffering a prolonged and cruel death. These more toxic poisons remain in the rodent's body, turning them into a toxic meal. When an owl, hawk, fox, or other predator catches what should be natural prey, they unknowingly consume the poison as well. These predators then experience the same slow internal bleeding, weakness, starvation, and vulnerability. There are many reports of wildlife rehabilitators seeing these animals. We can only imagine how many suffer and die without us ever knowing. Poisons are destroying nature's way of controlling rodents. We cannot keep turning our forests and fields into chemical killing grounds. Wildlife and ecosystems deserve better. We all deserve better.