Rodenticide
Background
Scotland, and the UK, have an abundance of diverse species who predate on rodents or what has commonly become known in this country as “vermin”.
But the methods used to control rodent population in urban areas, in homes, parks, municipal facilities and farm land have an impact further up the food chain.
Rodenticides are toxins used to poison rodents, most commonly by thinning their blood so it cannot clot leading to internal bleeding - are a big one. But the problem with these is that, aside from killing the innocent rodents, when raptors and other animals eat poisoned prey, they also get poisoned, and have the same lethal effect.
Direct and secondary poisoning
There are two types of poisoning when it comes to rodenticide.
Direct poisoning - when the bait planted for the rodent is eaten by a different animal, like a cat, a bird, a squirrel or even a dog. The same effect will take place on the non-target species, which will become infected with the anticoagulant toxin and die from internal bleeding.
Secondary poisoning - when a predator like a bird of prey (owl, red kite, eagles, some of which are endangered species), a fox or again cats and dogs, eat poisoned rodents. The rodenticide can take days to actually kill the rodent, and the mouse or rat can continue to feed on the poisoned bait in that time, building up an even more toxic dose for their predators. Once infected, the poison also slows them down and makes it easier for the predators to catch them - which further exacerbates the problem and causes infected animals to suffer slow and painful deaths.
Examples:
According to the Wildlife Incident Investigation reports produced by the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), there were 168 reported incidents of wildlife having been found dead with traces of rodenticides in their system. More than 30 species were represented, including various raptors such as the endangered Golden Eagle and White Tailed Eagle, badgers, hedgehogs, otters, beavers, cats, swans and pheasants. And those are just the ones that were found and reported.
Non-toxic alternatives
Or better yet, we can work with nature to achieve the desired effect.
Attract their natural predators - we can encourage and protect raptors like owls, which are highly efficient predators and not uncommon in most parts of the UK.
Introduce sensory deterrents - light, sound and scent can all be highly effective deterrents to rodents, including menthol or strobe lighting as mentioned above.
Block entry points - regularly checking cracks in walls or doors and covering them, as well as vents or any other space where rodents could crawl through.
Tidy up the environment - either by clearing or securing debris like discarded food, compost and tall grass from the environment, it will be less attractive to wildlife.
There are non-lethal alternatives to managing rodent population. Some are quick fixes like:
cayenne pepper
peppermint soap
Both of these can be sprinkled or sprayed along the paths that rodents use to deter them.
There’s also the option of high intensity strobe lighting in attics or other spaces to encourage the rodent to vacate.
Our campaign
We are campaigning for prohibition of the use of rodenticides, in particular Secondary Anti-Coagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), in agricultural settings and the promotion of non-lethal alternatives.
The use of SGARs has skyrocketed in recent years. A study from the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme revealed that the number of birds of prey poisoned by the rodenticide Brodifacoum, the most common type of SGAR, rose from 4 in 2019 to 23 in 2020 and 25 in the first seven months of 2021.
In 2015, the organisation Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRUU) rolled out a training and accreditation programme for farmers to learn best practice standards of rodenticide application called the Stewardship regime. However, it is having little effect, with soaring rates of SGARs and just 17% of farmers having undergone the training.
This needs to form part of a larger Wildlife Management scheme in Scotland. We will be consulting with government ministers and implicated organisations to push for much more robust restrictions, which reduce the amount of poisons indiscriminately entering the food chain and the needless deaths to Scotland’s precious wildlife.