Pass Rodenticide Legislation in Informal Session

This past June, the MA House of Representatives took action in regulating and monitoring the use of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) in the Commonwealth, by passing H. 4931, An Act relative to pesticides. SGARs are a particularly toxic group of poisons used as a form of rodent control. SGARs, when ingested, prevent the clotting of blood, and cause the animal who ingested it to sustain heavy internal bleeding, eventually causing death. The poison remains in the dead or dying rodent’s system for days. SGARs impact non-targeted pets and wildlife populations, such as birds of prey, who rely on the poisoned rodents as a food source. As a result, the cats and dogs, hawks, eagles, owls, bobcats, etc. who are exposed often suffer the same fatal hemorrhaging as their meal.

Dogs like Lucy. Lucy was out for her evening walk when she got into something on the ground. By the next evening, she had stopped eating and drinking, was very stiff, agitated, and staring off into space. Her owners knew something was very wrong and took her to her veterinarian who referred them to MSPCA-Angell West after her blood clotting numbers came back very low. When Lucy arrived, she had bruising on her legs and abdomen—she was bleeding internally. The doctor at Angell knew what ailed Lucy. Rodenticides. Lucy was showing classic symptoms of rodenticide poisoning and was too healthy for it to be any other medical reason. Better monitoring of these poisons and reduction in their use are critical to stopping incidents like what happened to Lucy.

H. 4931 requires the increased use of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies in Massachusetts. It would require public institutions of higher education to adopt IPM strategies (state law already requires schools and child care centers to adopt IPM strategies). IPM uses multiple methods to prevent and address rodent problems. For example, an IPM plan could include sealing building holes and cracks, adequately sealing trash and dumpsters, and removing nesting materials from problem areas to discourage rodents.

This legislation also requires digitization of pesticide use forms to allow for better data collection and monitoring and requires data on pesticide use in the Commonwealth to be made available annually. Currently, licensed and certified pesticide applicators are required to submit annual reports detailing the quantities of all pesticides used. Pesticide dealers are also required to submit annual sales reports for restricted use products. However, these forms are paper-based, often hand-written, and not regularly monitored, making them difficult to access and interpret. Digitizing these forms will allow for better tracking of rodenticide use statewide and facilitate greater ease of use by state agencies and researchers.

This bill, championed in the House by its sponsor, Representative Jim Hawkins, now sits in the MA Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Though it is now informal session, this bill has a significant opportunity to pass the Senate with constituent support. Your state senator needs to hear from you on why H. 4931 is important to you and your community. Please ask your state senator to help move H. 4931 to the Senate floor for a vote before session ends December 31. You can find out who represents you at https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator. You can learn more about this bill at www.mspca.org/rodenticidebill. Stay up to speed on our efforts by joining our Animal Action Team at www.mspca.org/jointheteam.