On November 16, 2021 Deanna Pfeifer of Rodenticide Free BC received a call about a dead great-horned owl at the Jutland Road office of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in Victoria. Black poison boxes had been located against the outer walls of the building, leading to the conclusion that the bird had been poisoned by rodenticide.
On July 21, 2021 the BC government announced an 18-month Rodenticide Action Plan, which was to include the ban of second-generation rodenticides and a scientific review of the root causes of secondary poisonings on owls and other raptors. The ban was to be in effect until January 2023. The announcement on their website reads: “We share the concerns of many British Columbians that rodenticide use is harming, and too often killing, birds, pets and other wildlife” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “That is why we are taking action to reduce risks, conduct a review and step up our efforts to reduce unnecessary pesticide use, rather than safer alternatives.”
Bromadiolone is on the list of banned poisons. At least one pest control company in Victoria did not appear to have received the memo. Photos were taken of not only the label on the boxes, but the grain bait that was under them, clearly labeled Bromadiolone on both the box and the bait.
A week after this discovery I went on my own to the office building. I found that all three boxes had been replaced with new ones that had no labels for either company or contents.
On their Facebook page Rodenticide Free BC writes “Our investigations and analysis reveal a catastrophic failure across government agencies responsible for keeping, collecting and monitoring data necessary to protect wildlife and the environment from the impact of [Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides.] By failing to properly regulate the use of SGARs, the Ministry falls tragically short of its statutory duty to protect the environment from the adverse effects of these poisons.”
Minister Heyman has the authority and the ability to ban the use of anticoagulant rodenticides at any time. This partial, temporary ban is impossible to monitor, as evidenced by this circumstance where the landlord of a Ministry of Environment office has hired a pest control company that uses Bromadiolone in spite of the temporary ban.
In a document entitled “The Disappearance of British Columbia’s Birds: A Summary of Independent Research Seeking the Truth About Raptor Mortality and Rodenticides” Defend Them All publishes some of 300 necropsies of raptors. The report is linked below.
“When the deaths of numerous owls came to the public’s attention in 2019, questions began to arise regarding the legal, regulatory, and enforcement mechanisms in place around rodenticides in B.C. In an effort to better understand how rodenticides affect wildlife and raptor species in particular, avian necropsy reports performed by B.C.’s Animal Health Centre (otherwise known as the Animal Health Lab) from January 2017 through November 2020 were requested through the province’s Freedom of Information process.”
“The raptors represented by the necropsies discussed above only include those that were successfully submitted to and documented by the Wildlife Health Lab. These birds (300) merely scratch the surface with respect to birds found dead in B.C. during this time frame as most birds are never reported, thrown away, taxidermied or collected by local museums. Additionally, wildlife rehabilitation organizations have reported “freezers full of birds” intended for submission to the Wildlife Health Lab and backlogged.”
https://www.defendthemall.org/news/2021/11/27/the-disappearance-of-british-columbias-birds
Update: Abell Pest Control has denied that there was rodenticide in the boxes at the Jutland Road office building. An email from the Deputy Minister confirms that an inspection turned up no Bromadiolone at the site. The photo above was taken on November 16, 2021 which clearly shows blue mouse droppings that were under the traps. It was sent to the ministry, but even this clear evidence has been denied.
By Kelly Carson, November 28, 2021
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