密歇根新闻广播 鼠药的作用不止那些

 

Wildlife are being poisoned and much of the time people using the poisons are not even aware of the danger. One Michigan resident is on a crusade to make people understand what’s at risk when they use rat poison.

David Collins became interested in rat poison after a pair of Great Horned Owls² nested in a park in Ann Arbor³. He learned owls are often poisoned because they go after slower-moving rats that have been poisoned. He started noticing rat poison bait traps around his town.

“I'm walking my dog. I'd walk by them repeatedly and not really think that there was anything I could do about it. It's, you know, city properties and businesses. And it wasn't until this year that I finally decided⁴, hey, maybe I can talk to somebody and see if I can get them to change their mind,” Collins said.

He talked with some of the businesses about the risks of poisoning wildlife. They removed the traps.

Then he noticed Washtenaw County buildings had a lot of the bait traps. He called his county commissioner⁵. In days the county removed them.

“Yeah. It was it was deceptively quick because not everyone is quite so cooperative. But it did help me realize that maybe there is a chance to to get rid of a few of them in town, if nothing else,” Collins said.

Collins learned about the link between rat poison and wildlife because of the Howell Nature Center’s website.

Dana DeBenham is the recently-retired wildlife director at the center. They take in thousands of injured wild animals each year and try to treat them so they can be released again. She showed a captive bald eagle and other raptors that cannot be released into the wild because their injuries are too severe.

We then visit a barn owl¹ they’ve named Gilly. Fittingly, the owl lives in a barn.

"A pair of barn owls or a family of barn owls in your barn can eat two to 4000 mice and rats a year. That's fantastic natural rodent⁶ control,” DeBenham noted⁷.

Barn owls have been wiped out in Michigan because of loss of habitat and because of rat poison. DeBenham says all kinds of wildlife are exposed to rat poison.

"Studies show, for instance at Tufts University in Massachusetts, that 86% of the raptors coming in test positive for rodenticides,” she said.

Birds of prey⁸ are not the only ones being poisoned.

“It's affecting all kinds of wildlife, not just raptors. Foxes, coyotes, bobcats,” she said.

Pets are also being poisoned.

Kerry McKinney is an emergency care veterinarian at the Ann Arbor Animal Hospital.

"I think it's a concern that the pets have access to the rodenticide themselves. I think the secondary exposure with pets eating poisoned rodents⁹ is probably a little bit less likely, but certainly possible," McKinney said.

She added that rat poison is one of the top ways pets are poisoned.

“Nationwide, according to Pet Poison Help Line, that's one of the top 10 poisoning cases that they see typically over the last several years," McKinney said.

Not all rat poisons work the same. The "first generation" poisons are anticoagulants which work slower over a few doses. Newer "second generation" anticoagulants kill rats much faster and build up in wildlife much faster. And then there are neurotoxicants; it’s much more difficult to save an animal exposed to them. (See this information with a list of rodenticides and information about the chemicals.)

There are rat poisons which don’t kill wildlife or pets. They’re often called “eco-friendly” rat poisons.

However, when someone has a rat problem, they usually want the fastest, most lethal¹⁰ poison to get rid of the vermin as quickly as possible.

David Collins, the guy trying to get rat poison bait traps removed in his town, understands that a rat infestation¹¹ is a horrible problem for a restaurant, or school, or home.

“I'm not entirely¹² against rodenticides in all cases, but I want to make sure that if people do choose to use them, if they've exhausted¹³ every other possibility and their rodent problem is so severe, that they openly acknowledge the reality that they'll be taking many other animals and possibly even pets along with them,” Collins explained.

The experts say before poison, first, don’t attract rats. Don’t leave pet food outside. Clean up under your bird feeder. Keep tight lids on trash cans and pick up pet waste. Then, if you feel you must put out rat poison bait traps, use an eco-friendly one that won’t kill wildlife or pets.

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

3 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

9 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

10 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

11 infestation   

n.侵扰，蔓延

参考例句：

• The premises were treated for cockroach infestation.因蟑螂成灾，这些房屋集中进行了灭蟑活动。
• Parts of California are suffering from an infestation of oriental fruit flies.加利福尼亚的部分地区正遭受东方果蝇的大肆侵袭。

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。