The Ventura County Public Works Agency will present its ongoing raptor program, using hawks and owls to control rodents, at a free symposium on alternatives to toxic rodenticides to control pests. The symposium is sponsored by Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks and State Senator Fran Pavley.
The symposium will explore several alternatives to rodenticides like D-Con, Talon, and Havoc, which effectively kill mice, rats, ground squirrels and other animals but also are harmful (even deadly) to valuable natural predators of these animals. In the Ventura County area, 95 percent of bobcats, 83 percent of coyotes and 91 percent of mountain lions have ingested rodenticides, which prevent the ability of animals to coagulate blood, resulting in death from internal bleeding. The danger is not limited to animals; every year 10,000 children are poisoned by rodenticides at home. Last fall, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law prohibiting rodenticide use in state parks, wildlife refuges and conservancies and local governments are considering restrictions on the chemicals.
The Ventura County raptor program is one of several presentations offering alternatives to these rodenticides. The Agency has built structures to encourage raptor nesting and hunting alongside county levees and dams, which are susceptible to damage from rodents.
In addition to the VCPWA presentation by deputy director Karl Novak, tours of the Agency’s Raptor Research program are available to interested media members.
EVENT INFORMATION
Free Symposium: Alternatives to Anticoagulant Rodenticides
When: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 from 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Where: Broome Library, Cal State University Channel Islands
Who: VCPWA Deputy Director Karl Novak, and experts from UC Cooperative Extension, National Park Service, Pepperdine University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and others