Last Saturday, the 22nd of February, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and Environmentally Sound Productions put on a benefit concert to raise money for a campaign to get rat poisons out of marijuana production. Bird Ally X /Humboldt Wildlife Care Center supports this effort wholeheartedly. So we drove down to set up an information table at the show and spoke briefly regarding the impact of rat poisons on local wild animals, including the orphans that result when parents are killed! While we don’t endorse the idea of using any poison, second generation anti-coagulants (such as D-Con, etc.) are particularly nasty. We’ll have more on rat poisons soon.
Did Your Pot Kill a Hawk? expect to see this in the coming months!
Bird Ally X poster promoting rodenticide-free wildlife!
Of all the raptors harmed by marijuana growers use of rodenticides targeting pot-munching Dusky Footed wood rats, Owls are harmed much more often than Hawks by secondary poisoning. For example, Spotted Owls prey heavily on wood rats in the Redwood region. The wood rats and many other rodents are nocturnal, so it’s owls that are preying on them around marijuana gardens. Any campaign directed at marijuana growers should know this.
It would definitely be more effective if the imagery for the poster was more relevant to Humboldt… the ubiquitous use of rodenticides impacts many species, hawks among them… take a look at this ongoing study that is being done by our colleagues in San Rafael… http://www.wildcarebayarea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Animal_Emails_Rodenticide_Results_February_2013
Thanks for the link to the study. Yes, I have been trying to get the people involved in the ad campaign to make their materials more appropriate to marijuana farming in the Emerald Triangle where thousands of growing operations are secluded in the forested area.