The Threat to Wildlife
Primary Poisoning
Primary poisoning occurs when target and non-target animals consume baits. Non-target animals include pets and wildlife, including threatened and engangered native wildlife. Pindone is likely to kill small native animals that feed on the baits including antechinus, possums and bandicoots. If baits are not securely protected larger animals such as wallabies and kangaroos may also be harmed.
It was observed in 2002 that while various “native birds and mammals also appear to share a similar susceptibility to pindone” as rabbits the impact on native animal “populations is difficult to measure and has rarely been studied”. (NRA 2002: 7, 33) Little has changed.
In October 2010 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that over 400 birds including kelp gulls, giant petrels and black ducks had been killed on Macquarie Island after being exposed to another anticoagulant poison, brodifocoum, used to eradicate rabbits and rodents on the island.
Available information indicates that a number of native species (macropods, bandicoots, dasyurids, raptors and a range of granivorous birds) are likely to share the high sensitivity of rabbits to pindone”. (NRA 2002: 6, 23-4, 39).
Common wildlife at risk of primary poisoning in coastal NSW includes swamp wallabies, redneck wallabies, kangaroos, possums, antechinus (pictured), bandicoots, a variety of birds species and goannas. It has been reported that,
western grey kangaroos, southern brown bandicoots and crested pigeons are confirmed casualties of pindone poisoning campaigns in WA, with poisoning strongly
suspected in incidents involving Port Lincoln parrots and juvenile Brahminy kites. Swamp wallabies and young cattle have been killed in NSW. A variety of birds (plovers, quail, rails, wrybills, silvereyes, grey warbles, black-back gulls and Australian harriers) have been killed in New Zealand. (NRA 2002: 26, 30-31, 35)
Kangaroos "appear highly sensitive" to pindone, "based on results for western greys” (NRA 2002: 26, 30).
A Russian translation of this page completed by Edubirdie can be found at http://edutranslator.com/ugroza-dikoj-prirode/
A Thai translation of this page can be found at http://eduindexcode.com/the-threat-to-wildlife/