"A single owl family can kill 8,000 rodents each year."

"But there are also particular conservation problems for owls. As predators, often of rodents, owls are susceptible to the accumulation of persistent pesticides (notably anticoagulant rodenticides such as brodifacoum) that we use to control rats and mice around our houses or more extensively for rodent plagues in crops."

"In Australia, we are profligate in our use of such chemicals and lax in our regulation of them. Secondary poisoning of owls is thus common. One study from Western Australia detected anticoagulant rodenticides in 72% of boobook owls found dead or moribund."

"During recent Australian mouse plagues, the New South Wales government sought an emergency permit to make available large quantities of the rodenticide bromadiolone. This poison is known to have cumulative impacts across food chains, particularly to predators such as owls. Its proposed use was ultimately quashed by the Commonwealth regulatory agency, largely because of such concerns."

https://theconversation.com/spooky-stealthy-night-hunters-revealing-the-wonderful-otherworld-of-owls-209498
#pesticides #regulation #anticoagulant #rodenticides #brodifacoum #FoodChain #owls #birds