TEWKSBURY — Massachusetts lawmakers, local officials and wildlife advocates are rallying behind new legislation that would sharply limit the use of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), toxic rat poisons that have been linked to the deaths of pets and wildlife across the state.
The bill, now gaining momentum on Beacon Hill, would end the registration and re-registration of ARs in Massachusetts except in cases of declared public health emergencies. Under the proposal, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) would be empowered to establish strict standards for any emergency use, and only licensed applicators would be allowed to deploy the poisons under those conditions.
Supporters say the measure is urgently needed because anticoagulant rodenticides — particularly the more potent second-generation products known as SGARs — are causing widespread “secondary poisoning” among non-target animals…