Government Opinion on the Use of a Pervasive Pesticide is Open for Public Comment
02/14/2012
 Black-footed ferrets image courtesy of the USFWS. |
Pesticides: they’re in our food, our water, and our environment. In a recent biological opinion open for public comment until the end of this week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the use of one in particular, Rozol, could kill black-footed ferrets and aplomado falcons, not to mention other raptors and even passerine birds.
“We have a number of incidents where we found dead birds that died either from primary or secondary effects,” says Nancy Golden, a toxicologist with the USFWS. Rozol, as well as other rodenticides used on the landscape, are quite toxic to birds as well, she says. “I think there is a growing concern, at least among the wildlife community, for anticoagulants and pesticides.”
Used to control pesky prairie dogs in Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states, Rozol is an anticoagulant, meaning it causes uncontrollable bleeding in anything that ingests it. Even though it is meant to destroy targeted animals, those that eat animals exposed to the pesticide, like black-footed ferrets that eat prairie dogs, are also in danger. The anticoagulant builds up in their bodies, sometimes proving fatal. (Rozol is not a known endocrine disruptor, or synthetic chemical that mimics or interferes with normal hormonal function.)
“Ferruginous hawks, golden eagles, bald eagles, owls, magpies, turkey vultures, badgers, swift foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and grain eaters like wild turkeys and red-winged blackbirds have been turning up dead around Rozol treatment sites, and while some carcasses have yet to be tested, lethal concentrations of Rozol are being found in ones that have been. Rozol also directly threatens the grievously endangered black-footed ferret by both direct poisoning and by destroying its obligate food and refuge source,” Ted Williams wrote in an Incite article titled "Doggone."
Hundreds of thousands of pounds of Rozol are distributed across the landscape, says Ron Klataske, director of Audubon of Kansas, poisoning prairie dogs on a massive scale.
The USFWS is working with private landowners to reintroduce black-footed ferrets in Logan County, Kansas. Yet that county alone bought 46 tons of Rozol Prairie Dog Bait in 2008 to eradicate the animals.
“They have allowed far too loose of a reign on the individual or individuals who have allowed Rozol to surge forward and be used in this fashion and it’s really inexcusable,” he says.
A biological opinion issued by the USFWS, which focuses solely on how Rozol’s use could affect endangered species, states that three of the 21 endangered species assessed—black-footed ferrets, aplomado falcons, and gray wolves—could all still be negatively affected. Although certain measures are in place to reduce the amount of harm, there may still be a number of individuals that die from the chemical’s use.
“We’re not saying no to prairie-dog control, we’re saying no to indiscriminate killing,” says Brian Rutledge, executive director of Audubon Wyoming and National Audubon’s vice president for the Rocky Mountain Region.
The solution, for now, may be to submit a comment to the draft biological opinion stating that more should be done to protect wildlife listed under the Endangered Species Act. Then, “what needs to happen for this progress to continue and accelerate and for the black-footed ferret to remain on the planet is for the EPA to ban Rozol and similar biocides for prairie-dog control,” Williams writes in his article. “That doesn’t seem like much of a hardship for ranchers who have a cheap, safe, effective alternative in zinc phosphide. And that doesn’t seem like a big order for an enlightened administration that, with its superb appointments, has repeatedly demonstrated concern for and understanding of wildlife.”
Click here to see the draft biological opinion, and leave a comment by clicking on “Submit a Comment.”
For more reading on black-footed ferrets and other endangered species, check out our article titled "The Least Among Us."
Also, see more photographs from "Doggone" here.
Comments
I think we should protect
I think we should protect our environment
The periodical is
The periodical is interdisciplinary in view and
manuscripts in print in it cover all applicable
areas inorganic chemistry trace elements in
food and the environment, complexes and
metal chelates. Inorganic chemistry mark
out the elements in food & the environment,
metal complexes and chelates.
Sad truth...I wish all
Sad truth...I wish all actions against prairie dogs should be stopped! Native Americans lived in harmony with nature all their life.
The use of the poison will
The use of the poison will clearly result in the secondary poisoning of many migratory birds and endangered species. The poisoning of prairie dogs by the use of Rozol is an indiscriminate practice that will harm the environment and should be apposed by the EPA.
The use of the poison will
The use of the poison will clearly result in the secondary poisoning of many migratory birds and endangered species. The poisoning of prairie dogs by the use of Rozol is an indiscriminate practice that will harm the environment and should be apposed by the EPA.
Please ban the use of Rozol.
Please ban the use of Rozol. Its toll on non-targeted species, including endangered species, is too great!
Pesky to whom? Ranchers.
Pesky to whom? Ranchers. Period. If the public just allowed wolves, foxes, wild cats and other large predators to repopulate those areas, then there wouldn't be a need for pesticides. Let mother nature balance herself by removing the overpopulation of ranches. It is the greed and territoriality of cattle and sheep producers at odds with the environment. Stop the insanity.
Unbelievable. what is the
Unbelievable. what is the purpose of this? Toxic chemicals to control their population? if You don't care about the animals (I do however) think about your Children and future generations. The future generations will talk about us disgust and what we did to their earth.
Ban Rozol now! don't kill
Ban Rozol now! don't kill innocent animals!
The Earth is our Mother. No
The Earth is our Mother. No more poisons!
We, as human beings can do
We, as human beings can do better by than this! Rozol is a blood-thinning poison that, when ingested, causes prairie dogs to slowly bleed to death – a cruel and excruciating way for these playful little animals, to suffer and die.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials asked the EPA to consult with them before approving Rozol, because they had serious concerns about the effects this could have on other prairie wildlife. The Environmental (is it a joke) Protection Agency did not listen...Do you think they are listening now? Toxic chemicals like pesticides, put into the environment by humans, will in time come back to them. Life is a circle!!
Please don't add toxins
Please don't add toxins active on vertebrates to the environment. If prairie dogs must be controlled, use non-chemical means. Our own health (we are mammals just like prairie dogs) and that of the ecosystem are at risk.
STOP using the poison! Every
STOP using the poison! Every animal/bird that eat prairie dogs are digesting that poison too! When will humans let nature do what it does naturally?Poisons are NOT in their vocabulary! Leave the prairie dogs alone!
Don't do it!! We don't need
Don't do it!! We don't need anymore poisons in our environment - how are you going to keep other animals from eating them once they are poisoned? You'll poison everything right on down the food chain.
This is the most horrific
This is the most horrific and unthinkable thing to do to the animals. We humans are the most horrible creatures on this earth. It's all us, us, us. These creatures deserve to be here also.
Don't kill prairie dogs!
Don't kill prairie dogs! According to the San Diego Zoo website: "...a growing number of experts argue that prairie dogs may, in fact, be helpful to ranchers and others. The prairie dog is an important part of the prairie ecosystem. Prairie dogs' churning activities aerate the soil to allow for more water penetration, while their nitrogen-rich dung improves the quality of the soil and vegetation. The prairie dog also supports a wide variety of species in another way: foxes, coyotes, weasels, snakes, hawks, eagles, and the endangered black-footed ferret are some of the many predators that rely on prairie dogs for food."
Besides, have you ever visited a prairie dog town? Prairie dogs are CUTE!!!
I believe that chemicals
I believe that chemicals should not be used to control any animal species. Please ban the use on Rozol. Haven't we learned from our past mistakes?
Haven't we inflicted enough
Haven't we inflicted enough damage on our planet? No one would allow this kind of thing to happen in their own home, but we seem to be forgetting that the earth is the most important home we have!
It’s a really good read in
It’s a really good read in my opinion, Have to acknowledge that you really are among the perfect writers We actually noticed.Appreciate your publishing this interesting article.
As a keystone species,
As a keystone species, prairie dogs create habitat and provide a food source that many other species depend upon. Mass poisoning has environmental repercussions beyond controlling the targeted species. The US Fish and Wildlife and EPA must investigate and advocate more environmentally sensitive approaches to population control.
The widespread use of Rozol
The widespread use of Rozol Prairie Dog Bait is potentially a major threat to migratory birds, especially Ferruginous Hawks and other birds that feed on prairie dogs that may have ingested the bait. Ferruginous Hawks are experiencing alarming declines in many areas where they nested in abundance in past decades. It often takes prairie dogs from one to three weeks to die from the internal and external hemorrhaging caused by Rozol. Thus, the slow-dying prairie dogs (and other wildlife that have ingested the bait) may be exposed to predators and scavengers for weeks. The dead animals are also consumed by Badgers, Swift Foxes, Black-footed Ferrets and other predators that even gain access to the dead animals in burrows.
Alternatives may be hard to
Alternatives may be hard to explore so just take the lazy man approach as usual till something is found 20yrs from now in your kids or grandchild's food or water or whatever for yet another harmful chemical STOP IT NOW please.
TOO MANY NEGATIVE FFECTS
TOO MANY NEGATIVE FFECTS WITH ROZOL
L NOT GOOD FOR ENVIRONMENT
BAN IT!
SIGNED
NORMA FALK
WILLIAM L. FALK
When will the human plague
When will the human plague that has infested this planet learn that if they kill one thing with a chemical, they are also killing anything connected in any way? I doubt anything will be done about this since our FDA is now headed by Mr. Monsanto.
Please ban Rozol. The last
Please ban Rozol. The last thing we need is more poisons in our enviroment.