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Blood test shows rodenticide likely killed young great horned owl in Hyde Park

Andrew Joslin reports test results show a fatal dose of a commonly used rodenticide in the blood of a young great horned owl found on the ground under its nest near the DCR swimming pool and rink on Turtle Pond Parkway in Hyde Park earlier this month.

He reports that rescuers who found the owlet rushed it to an wildlife treatment facility in Gloucester, but it was too late - the bird died ten minutes after arrival.

The owlet was lethargic and had an extremely pale mouth and tongue. On handling it bled freely from a wing. It had been on the ground for approximately 6 hours before capture.

He says one of the chemicals found in the bird's blood was bromadiolone, a "second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide" now commonly found in bait traps, which works by making them bleed out, basically. Rats ingest the stuff, but don't die immediately, so leave the traps in a weakened state, making them more vulnerable to raptors, which eat them, increasing their own odds of dying from the chemical.

In February, a bald eagle found in Arlington died from ingesting one of the chemicals.

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Comments

How does it make sense to use this stuff on something that is the natural prey of the eagles and owls who are dying from this toxic chemical?

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… after catching slow moving poisoned rats and eating them. A horrible death for any animal tricked into ingesting this poison.

Ban rodenticide.

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Serval cats. There has to be a way. Unlike some housecats who can't be bothered, these pro athletes of death will get it done. Spay and neuter and put them in uniform.

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If they don't freeze to death they will kill all the songbirds

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Rats kill songbirds, too.

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I want to kill the rats but we have wild cats native to here.

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Crazy idea here... but what if we just didn't kill rats?

Or better, when will the rats start killing off the real plague? Yes. Humans are the real plague. We destroy the natural world and kill off whatever we deemed a threat, but in reality we are the threat. To this planet and ourselves. Rats are just a threat to success capitalism and consumerism. Humans needs to just die off.

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