Swampscott Forum Targets Rat Poison Threat To Wildlife

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The death of a bald eagle believed to have come from eating poisoned rats has rekindled pressure to restrict anticoagulant rodenticides.

North Shore wildlife rehabber Dan Proulx will help lead a discussion on the dangers to eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes and other wildlife from the rodenticides as he is joined by State Rep. Jim Hawkins (D-Attleboro) and State Rep. Jenny Armini (D-Marblehead) on Tuesday night at Swampscott High School.

The forum will include a discussion of a State House bill that Hawkins and State Sen. Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough) co-filed that would call to decrease the use of these rodenticides and promote "integrated pest management and education, and modernize pesticide use tracking."

The public is invited to the forum that will be held in Room B129 at 6:30 p.m.

Two weeks ago, the bald eagle "MK," whose life with her mate "KZ" has been documented since she was hatched in Waltham in 2016, was admitted to and later died at the New England Wildlife Center after being found sick and unable to fly in an Arlington cemetery Monday morning, the center shared in a Facebook post.

The veterinary team worked for days to stabilize the critically ill eagle as she battled severe anemia and weakness that prevented her from standing, which the center said they believe to be caused by anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning.

The New England Wildlife Center team that cared for MK wrote that they attempted to counteract the clotting effects the poison caused as well as provide her with fluids, pain medication, and oxygen support.

"Our veterinary team was by her side when it happened and was able to quickly clear her airway and intubate her, provide emergency drugs and fluids as her heart rate slowed, and eventually worked to do compressions to revive her," the center wrote in a post that announced MK's death. "Sadly, it was not enough to bring her back.

"She was gone in a matter of minutes."

Two years ago, Proulx shared with Patch the story of "Maximus" — a hawk that he rescued from Peabody when it was found suffering from secondary rodenticide poisoning and which was successfully rehabbed through Cape Ann Wildlife of Gloucester.

Cape Ann treasurer Erin Hutchings told Patch at the time that while Maximus was a rare success story, 95 percent of birds found suffering from the poisoning do not make it.

"It's been so disappointing the number of times I've picked up a red-tail hawk or an owl and it dies from thinning blood," Proulx told Patch. "It's usually not the first (rodent) they eat. It's from multiple ones.

"It catches up with them."

The rodenticide issue is most prevalent near malls and shopping centers that use rat poison to control the rodent population in and around dumpsters. The food placed in the dumpsters draws the rodents, and the rodents draw the birds of prey who will feed on them near restaurants or as they cross nearby roadways.

Peabody this fall was one Massachusetts city that announced alternative plants to control its mouse and rat population that does not include poisoning.

The city deployed electronic kill boxes in "areas of high rodent activity" in June and announced plans to begin a rodent sterilization project in the fall.

"We are pleased to have these new strategies at our disposal, to supplement our existing surveillance, trapping, and traditional baiting activities and to minimize the need to rely on pesticides," Peabody Health Department Director Sharon Cameron said. "In addition, we really need the partnership of property owners, business owners, and residents to work with us to control rodent activity in the city by eliminating sources of food and harborage.

"These measures are the most important part of any rodent control program."

A video of the presentation is planned to be available on the Swampscott Conservancy website after the presentation.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)