This bill could save Bay State owls and hawks

BOSTON (WWLP) – Rat poison may sound like an easy solution to rodent infestation, but the consequences are grave: Rodenticide moves up the food chain and kills large birds and other wild animals.

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Rat poison, more formally known as anticoagulant rodenticide, is meant to mitigate risks that come with high rodent populations, like damage to crops and food supplies and the spread of diseases.

But these poisons remain in the mice and rats’ bodies after they die, so when animals like owls, hawks, coyotes, and even cats and dogs eat them, they are also poisoned and die a slow, painful death from internal bleeding.

A Massachusetts bill looks to save these predators from poison-caused deaths by putting strict restrictions on when and how often this type of poison can be used…

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