By Carrie Stamos and Trisha O’Hagan
On July 24, Save Lincoln Wildlife, a group of Lincoln residents, joined over 200 advocates from various Massachusetts cities and towns, along with 75 legislators and staff, for the “Protect Animals from Rodenticides Lobby Day.” The event also featured notable raptor ambassadors Falco the Red-tailed Hawk and Bella the Barn Owl.
We established Save Lincoln Wildlife after learning from Heather Packard from Mass Audubon about the toxic food web created by rodent poisons (rodenticides) and having follow-on discussions with Lincoln’s Conservation Department.
We learned that raptors, foxes, coyotes, and other beneficial predators play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of Massachusetts’ ecosystems. Unfortunately, many of these iconic creatures and even pets are poisoned and die after consuming rodents tainted with first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs and SGARs).
At Lobby Day (left to right): Sara Dunleavy of Carlisle, Staci Montori and Carrie Stamos of Lincoln, Meaghan Sinclair of Concord, and state Sen. Michael Barrett.
We at Save Lincoln Wildlife are dedicated to:
- Educating the community about the dangers of rodenticides.
- Promoting safer rodent control methods.
- Encouraging other communities to join our mission.
- Supporting Mass Audubon’s Rescue Raptors campaign.
- Welcoming all Lincoln residents to participate!
You can learn more by visiting:
Thank you for your help. Our wildlife ecosystem needs us all!
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It was great to share a table with you all!! The more we educate about the dangers of rodenticides, the more people join us in saving our wildlife.
Thank you, residents who are supporting this bill alongside Senator Barrett!
We don’t need to wait till the legislation is approved to make a difference. All homeowners and managers of other buildings should be using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with no rodenticides if possible, or minimized application of the most benign rodenticide as a last resort.
To all of us who live in multifamily residences, please check with your pest control providers to make sure that their work conforms to the principles of IPM, and at the very least they are not using Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), which have the greatest potential for poisoning raptors and other wildlife.