There are estimated to be less than 8,000 Powerful Owls left in NSW
They are considered endangered. This is an URGENT call to restrict retail sales of anticoagulant rodenticides, especially “second-generation” products (SGARs) that are killing native wildlife at an astounding rate. When Owls and other birds and animals eat poisoned rodents, they die a slow and painful death. First-generation poisons are much safer, effective and available, yet retailers still allow the sale of SGAR poisons. It is insane that this is going on.
Australian wildlife rescuers are drowning in dead Owls because of these lethal rodenticides, and scientists such as Western Australian Professor Rob Davis, say the situation has become so dire their freezers are filled to the brim with at least “50 to 100 dead Owls” – in the space of one month. Disturbingly, these poisons are currently on shelves at Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings and are available to anyone. Scientists and environmentalists have previously called on retailers to stop selling rodenticides that contain toxins including brodifacum and bromodialone, but they will not listen.
It's up to us to keep the pressure on – THE MORE LETTERS THE BETTER:
Write to the CEO of Bunnings – Tell the CEO of Bunnings, Michael Schneider to stop the sale of SGAR poisons and let him know how concerned you are about our threatened owls and other native animals being killed.
Write to the CEO of the APVMA, Scott Hansen: Tell him you are concerned about the upcoming review and that you hope they will do the right thing and ban the retail sale of SGAR poisons.
Australia is one of the only countries in the world that still allows consumers to buy these products. They are banned in Europe, the USA, Malaysia, Thailand and many other countries.
Dr Davis says his research found a disturbing 73 per cent of all dead birds studied had been poisoned. “Work by other researchers has further uncovered these poisons in Australian frogs as well as possums, wedge-tailed eagles and a wide range of native animals,” he added.
“The writing is on the wall and Australia is now far behind all developed countries in allowing these nasty poisons to continue to be used with scant regard for environmental or human health impacts.”
Our precious wildlife needs us to do better. Habitat loss has already decimated Owl populations, and they are coming into our backyards to live. Unfortunately, this means they are being poisoned even more from living in urban areas.
Alarmingly, the body that regulates these awful poisons, The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, are paid off by the very industries they are supposed to regulate! This means they do NOT have our wildlife's best interests at heart. Currently, they are reviewing SGAR poisons and their impact on Owls and other native animals, and will publish their results next year.
In the meantime, we have to keep the pressure on.
We're calling on the CEO of the APVMA to do the right thing and restrict the domestic use of SGAR poisons.
We're also calling on the CEOs of Bunnings, Coles and Woolworths to remove SGAR poisons from their shelves. These powerful corporations will of course, still make monstrous profits, so this move won't hurt their pockets, but it could mean the difference between the survival or extinction of our beautiful Owls and other affected wildlife.
Please sign, share and write, and and tell the CEO's why you care.
