Protect wildlife from rodent poisons in BC

The B.C. government is seeking public feedback on proposed changes to the province’s rodenticide regulations. Similar to the current temporary, partial ban on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs), the permanent changes being proposed fail to address a number of glaring gaps that will leave wildlife and pets at risk of rodenticide poisoning.

Birds of prey and scavengers that eat poisoned rodents continue to turn up dead; domestic cats and dogs are still being brought to veterinary clinics with serious symptoms of rodenticide poisoning, even losing their lives.

From now until June 19, 2022, animal lovers have a unique opportunity to speak up for wildlife and pets before B.C. moves forward with inadequate legislation.

Speak up for B.C. wildlife

Tell the provincial government that wildlife need stronger protections against inhumane and indiscriminate poisons. Click the link below to go to the B.C. government’s online consultation page.

Submit your comments (opens in a new tab)

Overview of key points

Help with online consultation

Key points to consider during the public consultation period:

Many dangerous poisons would still be allowed under the new regulations, including first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides and neurotoxins.
Exemptions to the ban are too broad; second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides would still be used in many locations, including those with frequent wildlife activity.
Compliance with and enforcement of the partial ban have been inconsistent; there is inadequate evidence that the government has capacity to enforce proposed restrictions or Integrated Pest Management requirements.
Rodenticides are not a long-term solution, as they can harm and kill natural predators of rodents and cause ecosystem imbalance. Many more effective alternatives and prevention strategies exist.

Key recommendations

A comprehensive ban of all rodenticides is needed.
At the very least, the list of exempt locations should be reduced and the proposed changes should apply to all rodenticides.

Submit your comments (opens in a new tab)

Tips for filling out the public consultation survey

British Columbia residents can complete the online consultation by going to the B.C. government’s consultation page and clicking the button to “Submit comments online”.

If you are unable to complete the online consultation, you can email your feedback to IPMProgram@gov.bc.ca.

Continue scrolling for more in-depth points broken down by section. Please be sure to submit constructive comments in your own words.

Section 1: Demographics

Complete the section with your information.

Section 2: Discussion Questions (Optional – tap to expand)

Note: If you are unable to complete this section, you may still enter your key concerns under Section 3: General Comments. Please use the suggested points below as a guide rather than copy and pasting, as unique submissions are important.

Question	Suggested points (in your own words)
1. The ministry is proposing to restrict the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) to Essential Services … What is your feedback on the proposed Essential Services list?	The list is too broad and will result in continued widespread use of SGARs. It should be further reduced and essential services should be assessed to evaluate and prioritize prevention and alternatives to rodenticides. For example, both rodent conflict and other wildlife activity may be present because of attractants, such as at garbage dumps or recycling facilities. This increases the probability of poisoning of non-target wildlife.
2. What is your feedback on implementing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, focused on prevention and alternative control tools to rodenticides, when managing rodents?	IPM has always been required, but has not been consistently followed or enforced. Express your concerns about how prevention and alternatives will be enforced.
3. What is your feedback on the proposed requirement for a site-specific IPM plan where SGARs are used?	Enforcement appears reactionary (site-specific plans would be provided to ministry inspectors upon request) rather than proactive (require all plans be submitted and reviewed).
4. The ministry is proposing to only allow short-term baiting if using SGARs within an IPM program. … How might the use of SGARs only for short-term baiting within an IPM program affect Essential Service operations?	It appears that compliance would be based on good faith by service owners and operators. Express your concerns about how compliance with 35-day limit and 120 total days per year time limit will be tracked and enforced.
Questions 5-11	Respond as desired or proceed to Section 3.

Section 3: General Comments

12. Do you have any other feedback on the proposed changes outlined in the Intentions Paper?

Respond with your main concerns and key points. Below are some additional details to consider. Please feel free to use the points below as a guide, but be sure to submit comments in your own words rather than copying and pasting.

There are many negative impacts of rodenticides, such as secondary poisoning of non-target species—which poses a danger to domestic pets and wildlife, including birds of prey.
The proposed changes don’t impact the use of other dangerous and inhumane rodenticides, such as first-generation anticoagulants (FGARs) and non-anticoagulants. For instance, veterinarians have raised concerns about bromethalin, a neurotoxin with no specific antidote, yet its use as a rodenticide is still permitted.
Exemptions for essential services are too broad and would mean SGARs will continue to be used in many circumstances and contribute to significant wildlife poisoning and deaths.
There are concerns about the government’s ability to enforce a permanent partial ban on SGARs. Evidence of suspected SGAR use in prohibited locations was routinely found during the temporary ban and follow-up on reported complaints was inconsistent and slow, suggesting that there aren’t enough resources allocated to effectively enforce a partial ban.
The same concerns exist with regard to capacity to enforce enhanced Integrated Pest Management (IPM) requirements—how will the government ensure compliance in terms of no preventative SGAR baiting; ensuring prevention and alternative measures are first exhausted; and limits on baiting time periods? IPM is already required in the current regulations and has not been effectively enforced, leading to regular overuse and misuse of all rodenticide products.
There are many prevention methods and alternatives.
Prevention is the only long-term solution to rodent conflict. For instance, removing attractants (garbage, compost, food sources like bird seed and fallen fruit, leaky plumbing); rodent-proofing buildings and fixing structural flaws and access points; habitat modification (cutting back bushes and grasses from around building, storing items away from buildings and off the ground).
Alternatives exist for lethal control, if needed, including high-quality snap traps; captive bolt traps and other mechanical systems (e.g. Goodnature device); rodent contraceptives (e.g. Contrapest); supporting presence of natural rodent predators, such as owls, through building owl boxes. A family of owls can eat more than 1,000 rodents per year!
Recommendation: For all of the above listed reasons, a complete ban on all rodenticides is strongly recommended, including FGARs and non-anticoagulants. As currently proposed, the regulations would result in a complicated patchwork of rules for different audiences and different rodenticide products, which is practically impossible to enforce.
At the very least, the proposed essential services list should be further reduced and, crucially, all of the proposed changes being proposed should be applicable to all rodenticides, rather than just SGARs. This would streamline the regulations across audiences and rodenticide products, creating more consistency in the regulations and enforcement.

Note: clicking the button below will open the link in a new tab. You can still return to this tab to review the key points.

Submit your comments (opens in a new tab)