Girl Scout Ava Toomey Advocates for Ban on Dangerous Pesticides
Eleven year old Ava Toomey exemplifies how young kids can make a big difference when it comes to helping animals. When Ava learned about the effects of dangerous rodenticides on wildlife, she decided to take action. After having seen a troubling video of a fox nearly dying from secondary poisoning, Ava reached out to Rep. Jim Hawkins and Sen. Paul Feeney, sponsors of a bill that would help stop things like this from happening. Read on for more about Ava’s experience, including how she overcame her nerves when testifying before the legislature. You can also learn more about this legislation and how to help with this and other animal protection issues.
Ava Toomey, age 11 and a Girl Scout, is asking legislators to support bill H. 825, “An Act relative to pesticides,” sponsored by Representative Jim Hawkins and Senator Paul Feeney, to protect animals from rodenticide poisoning. Ava learned about this issue when she saw a video about a wildlife sanctuary where a fox named Hawkins, named after the House sponsor, was treated for secondary poisoning from anticoagulant rodenticides. Fortunately, Hawkins survived and was released into the wild, but most animals who ingest these poisons are not so lucky.
Rodenticides are designed to prevent a rodent’s blood from coagulating, causing them a slow and painful death. These indiscriminate poisons can have broad impacts on entire ecosystems. When wildlife ingests sickened rodents, they become secondarily poisoned and may suffer the same fate as their prey. The offspring of birds of prey may even be harmed if the parent birds unknowingly bring poisoned rodents back to the nest. Companion animals and young children are also at risk of being poisoned.
Ava, upon learning about the dangers of rodenticides, decided she wanted to do something about it so she reached out to Representative Hawkins and asked how she could help. From there, Ava launched an educational campaign to raise awareness about the issue. To inform help the public and generate support, Ava tabled at farmers’ markets and also created a PSA. Ava also testified at the legislation’s public hearing to let the committee know how she and her generation want to protect animals from dangerous rodenticides. Ava says that while testifying was a little scary, she felt very supported by the legislators, who each introduced themselves to her and gave her a large round of applause when she finished. She also recounts that when she felt nervous, she reminded herself that the animals were counting on her. Ava says she would definitely do it again, and that she won’t stop until this bill is passed. Ava is receiving a Bronze Award from the Girl Scouts in September 2023 for her advocacy efforts on this issue and was named Time’s Kid of the Week.
