Follow-up to my earlier rat poison post

Earlier this week, I posted about the rodenticide signs posted around Columbus Park.  I wondered how the chemical Difethialone, which is banned by the EPA for residential use, could be allowed in our public parks.

Only today, I found this press release from 2014 explaining that New York state rejected the ban on super-toxic rat poisons.  This likely explains why the Department of Health is able to use it, but this doesn't make it ok.

From the press release:

“The state’s own reports reveal that majestic red-tailed hawks and snowy owls continue to suffer tortuous deaths from these dangerous poisons, but the Department of Environmental Conservation has turned a blind eye to these needless deaths in favor of pesticide manufacturers,” said Jonathan Evans, toxics and endangered species campaign director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s a range of safer, cost-effective alternatives available today, and no reason at all to leave the worst of the worst poisons on the market.”

Information on alternative non-toxic rat control can be found at the Safe Rodent Control Resource Center.

Raptors Are The Solution (RATS) is also a good resource for education and community outreach.

Rodenticide is a public health issue.  Please email Council Member Margaret Chin (chin@council.nyc.gov), who represents the Lower East Side, and demand the city use alternative methods of rat control in our public parks.