Raptors are helping with rodent control
Zoom talk looks at managing rodent issues without using poisons
Join the Redwood Region Audubon Society online Friday at 7 p.m. for a Zoom presentation titled “The Ecological Role of Raptors and the Impacts of Rat Poison” with speaker Jaime Carlino.
Rodenticide use is pervasive worldwide and the costs to rodent-consuming wildlife species such as raptors, as well as pets and children, are high, said Carlino.
Raptors Are The Solution is a nonprofit organization working with a coalition of NGOs, agencies, scientists, municipalities and individuals to eliminate toxic rodenticides from the food web. RATS and its regional chapters encourage people to be proactive in managing rodent issues without the use of poisons. As a regional chapter of RATS, the HUMRATS’ (Humboldt Raptors are the Solution) mission is to educate Humboldt County residents about the harmful effects of widespread use of toxic rodenticides, and the critical role played by rodent-consuming wildlife species such as raptors.
Carlino will give a brief overview of rodenticides, their effects on a variety of non-target species, describe what RATS and HUM-RATS are doing to address this issue, and provide information on how to manage rodent issues without using poisons.
Carlino is a longtime bird lover who studies wildlife management at Humboldt State University. She investigated barn owl nest box selection in California’s Central Valley agricultural ecosystems for her undergraduate degree. Her master’s degree work will focus on barn owls in Napa Valley’s agricultural ecosystems.
Carlino hatched HUMRATS in 2019 because she recognized the importance of poison-free ecosystems to the diverse array of wildlife that occurs in Humboldt County.
If you’d like to receive updates from HUM-RATS, search “Humboldt Raptors Are The Solution” on Facebook and “humrats” on Instagram. Visit http://rras.org/ home.aspx to obtain the link for this Zoom presentation.