Date: 6/3/25 4:39 pm From: Barbara Volkle <barb620...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] Frustration With Our Legislators !!
Thanks to Gary Menin, Sr. for this post.
In order to get news on this topic, contact him directly in order to get on his mailing list.
Barbara Volkle Northborough, MA <barb620...>
* From: gcmeninsr <gcmeninsr...> Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2025 09:14:12 -0400 Subject: Frustration With Our Legislators !!
A Very Compelling Note From Christine Cummings from a "A Place Called Hope" (https://www.aplacecalledhoperaptors.com/) on the frustration with our legislators: "Since so many of you have asked, and it=E2=80=99s so complicated because it's politics, I will do my best to explain. After four long years of efforts to bring attention to legislation regarding the growing crisis CT wildlife rehabilitators are facing with the increasing cases of secondarily poisoned victims being admitted from exposure to rodenticides, we have been abruptly halted due to a sneaky sentence hidden in a Senate Bill SB9, that overrode House Bill HB 6915. If you are like most people, the legislative process makes no sense. It makes even less sense when you dive in regarding an issue. It=E2=80=99s a bunch of favors and broken promises if you ask me. HB 6915 had momentum and support of 52 co sponsors. This bill was the strongest language to put into place a true partial ban on the overused and relied upon Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticide poison primarily applied by Pest Management Companies making profits. The US EPA removed this classification of anticoagulant poison from the public shelves in 2014 due to the potent dangers. 2015 Pest Control made these super toxic poisons the number one tool in their toolboxes. Since then, and at an increasing rate, these anticoagulant poisons are being improperly used by even the C licensed C applicators, as a preventative instead of how they were designed to be implemented. Proven by the endless bait boxes seen lining the perimeter of every treated structure. With each die off, rodents multiply keeping the bait boxes filled on a routine schedule. While pest companies profit and our wildlife suffers. Poisons have never solved a rodent problem. Sanitation and Exclusion along with safe non toxic alternatives are the longterm solution. Choosing poisons for anything but a true infestation, is a lazy approach that is guaranteed to kill off way more than the intended target. As noted in CA, many Pest Management Companies have made progress to eliminate barbaric and dangerous methods and have successfully rebuilt their integrated pest management strategies to not rely on poisons. It is entirely possible but without HB 6915, CT based companies don't have to think outside the baitbox. APCH provided scientific evidence of the far reaching damage this class of poisons impose on our wildlife. 79 out of 102 completed tests resulted positive for SGARS. Pest Management Providers have been unable to prove they are safe in any application. Nor have they been required to do so. SB 9 makes them Registered Use Products. What does that mean? Really nothing in this scenario. It means only =licensed applicators will beallowed to purchase them. That's primarily who is already mis-using thesproducts. There is an internet loophole, that will now be closed, and that would have been closed in HB 6915 as well. This means the average homeowner can't buy them. That=E2=80=99s all. In all of our testing, only three specimens came back with First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides. That's the stuff sold on public store shelves. This further implies that the average homeowner is not the biggest offender. The bait boxes lining commercial, public, rental, etc. structures are responsible. Despite the blatant science and evidence, some legislators have claimed SB 9 is a partial ban. HB 6915 had numerous exemptions regarding these rodenticides and public safety. This was the real partial ban with the strongest verbiage to help stop the overuse of these devastating poisons and actually help protect our environment. This infuriates so many of us wildlife rehabilitators who are literally the ones with blood on our hands. Shouldn't the blood be on the hands of the people who disregard the dangers and line our lives with bait boxes? We are not giving up. And we are not going away. We will continue this fight until the strongest language is out into law. Our wildlife is counting on us."
lAre we doing any better in Massachusetts ?
Gary Menin, Sr. Talkin' Birds Ambassador https://www.talkinbirds.com/ Advocate For Keeping Our Raptors Poison Free ~
