Birds of Prey and Rat Poison

During the month of October, we can clearly state that autumn has arrived. Large mammals have been freed; tiny mammal pups are old enough to find new homes, and birds of prey are beginning to be admitted to the facility. Every one of them is on the lookout for a rodent supper.

Red-tailed hawk with a fractured femur and rodenticide poisoning. Our veterinary staff repaired the shattered femur by pinning the bones together. Screwing the leg in place with a metal bar was the next step.

Still caring for this hawk.

After three weeks, the femur fracture will be free of metal. Due to their weight, the hawk can’t fly with them. Next, he must rebuild his muscles and learn to fly softly. After leaving the clinic, he’ll be taken to an aviary outside.

What about rodenticide poisoning?

Ingesting rat poison causes rodenticide poisoning. Warfarin, the most common rat poison, disrupts blood coagulation. It inhibits the Vitamin K enzyme that activates it. Clotting requires vitamin K. Once consumed, the animal or person hemorrhages inside. A horrible death.

Outdoor baits often attract non-targeted wildlife and pets. They’re delicious. Include chipmunks, squirrels, and songbirds. Outdoor bait stations attract cockroaches and other invertebrates. The poison doesn’t damage them, but they scatter and store it, which can lead to secondary poisoning (small mammals, birds). Secondary poisoning affects raptors.

It takes many days for ingested rat poison to kill the rodents that invade our houses in the fall. Outside, raptors frequently prey on them (owls, hawks). They eat rodents. The poisoned rat causes secondary rodenticide poisoning. Our red-tailed hawk undoubtedly died this way. This poisons foxes and fishers. Rarely do raptors lack this toxicity.

Poisoned animals have trouble breathing, internal bleeding, lethargy, and depression. Wildlife can’t hunt or move quickly when something happens. A predator may consume them (spreading the poison), they could be wounded by a car, or they could get hurt themselves. Rodenticide poisoning may have caused the red-tailed hawk’s femur to fracture when it was struck by a car.

Is rodenticide poisoning treatable?

If caught early, yes. We examine poisoned animals’ blood clotting times at Cape Wildlife Center. If the blood doesn’t clot, we provide Vitamin K. Repeat for weeks or months until blood clots normally. Our hawk’s rodenticide poisoning will take longer than a femur fracture.

Bromethalin is a novel, distinct rodenticide. Worse. It causes paralysis, coma, and death in 15 minutes. If your pet, child, or non-targeted wildlife eats this, they may die.

Infestation by rodents is a major problem in Cape Cod. Sealing foundation cracks and pipe holes is the safest way to get rid of them. Remove yard trash and don’t leave food out. Outside, don’t feed animals or pets. Block their entrances and remove any food. They’re leaving.

You can also try peppermint oil throughout your home. Alternatives include snap traps. Slaughtering animals that aren’t a part of the planned population is possible. There should be no use of glue traps. Not Hav-a-Hart. Once trapped, animals must be released on your property. Putting up owl boxes on your property reduces pests.

Rat poison kills raptors

Raptors are among nature’s most amazing creatures. Prey, their eyesight, talons, and beaks intrigued humans. Eagles, hawks, ospreys, buzzards, owls, and falcons are raptors. These beautiful birds provide pest control, ecological health indicators, and carcass disposal.

As a predator, size doesn’t matter. The Harpy eagle weighs up to 20 lbs. and hunts monkeys and sloths, according to Guinness World Records. Cats hunting golden retrievers? These birds are powerful, but not immune to rodenticides (rat poison).

Birds of Prey are in danger

Our raptors are threatened. International Union for the Conservation of Nature: 30% of raptor species are near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered (IUCN). Habitat loss, prey depletion, climate change, disease, and toxic exposure threaten these animals. Lead is harmful, but rodenticides are deadlier.

Rats! This is bad.

Rodenticides, or rat poison, threaten birds of prey because they consume rodents. Rodenticides prevent blood from clotting, causing profuse bleeding when harmed or trapped. Lethal rodenticide kills in one dose. Thus, birds of prey that consume rats with rodenticide constitute a concern.

How to aid raptors?

Veterinarians see increased poisoning in rehab and rescue organizations. The Wild Animal Health Fund is financing a study to better understand this species decline.

This study will focus on red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks, Cooper’s hawks, great horned owls, and barn owls in New Mexico at Hawk’s Aloft (rehab center). The initiative tries to identify the rodenticide, which birds were exposed, and at-risk species. Schools, towns, and local and federal Game and Fish departments will be more aware of rodenticide exposure.

Does rat poison kill birds?

Rats are one of the UK’s most hated pests because they spread disease, steal food, and are ferocious when threatened. Pigeons have earned the moniker “rats of the sky” in recent years due to the negative connotations they’ve received.

Some individuals use rat poison to kill problem birds like pigeons and gulls. This article examines whether rat poison damages birds, the legality of using it, and other effective bird deterrents.

Does rat poison kill birds?

Using rat poison to kill rats or as a bird deterrent is detrimental to birds. Different birds’ susceptibility to rat poison varies greatly, thus a dose that kills one species may have minimal impact on another. You may be trying to use rat poison to control pigeons, but it often kills predatory birds like eagles.

Using rat poison to decrease pest bird populations is counterintuitive because it is more likely to hurt non-pest bird species and could affect the birds that keep pest birds away.

Is killing birds illegal?

Killing birds in the UK are banned. Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act prohibits killing wild birds. Only a few exceptions allow legal bird killing. A landowner or occupier may kill pest species under General licenses under specified conditions and using specific methods. In order to protect public health, air quality, livestock or crops or vegetables or fruit or wood harvesting or fisheries, the killing of wild birds for these purposes is allowed under certain circumstances.

What deters birds?

There are more effective, compassionate, and legal techniques to inhibit bird nesting.

Taking away the ability to obtain food

Food and shelter are the two most important factors in a bird’s search for a location to nest. In order to keep birds away, the first thing you need to do is remove any food sources from the area. Consider purchasing more secure containers and making sure that nothing appetizing is left out in the open on your property.

Audio Visual Deterrents

Installing laser and acoustic scarers in places where you have noticed an increase in birds can be done by professional bird proofing specialists. These deterrents are often motion activated and will rapidly scare away any birds that venture close to your property, urging them to nest elsewhere.

Alterations to the structure

Animal-friendly methods of bird deterrence include installing spikes, nets, parallel wires, and bird gels in strategic locations around your home or business. In order to keep birds away, these deterrents serve as a safe physical barrier.

Taking Care of Your Real Estate

Birds like to build their nests on roofs and gutters because they have access to the materials they need. In the absence of routine gutter cleaning, filth and debris can accumulate, providing the perfect nest-building ingredients for birds.

Damaged or loose roof tiles may allow birds to nest. Keeping these areas clean and uncluttered will keep birds away.

weapons of falconry

Professional pest control teams can utilize falconry deterrents if your property is too large to use conventional deterrent measures efficiently. Pest birds will flee a location if predatory birds, such as falcons, fly through it, alerting them that the region is no longer secure.