Published on Thursday, 1 August 2024 at 9:36:26 AM
The City of Greater Geraldton has declared itself “owl friendly” with Council voting unanimously to protect birds of prey by using and promoting the use of first generation rodenticides to the community.
The City will take the lead in supporting Janelle Ende of Just Raptors’ campaign to reduce the number of unnecessary deaths of local native wildlife, particularly owls, through the use of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs).
Rodents that feed on SGARS do not feel the effects of the poison straight away which can lead to secondary poisoning occurring in non-target animals who eat them due to the slow break down of these poisons in the rodent’s system.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Jerry Clune said it was important for local governments to lead by example through owl friendly principles and practices.
“For a number of years now the City’s pest and rodent control programs which also includes our qualified pest contractors, have only used first generation rodenticides,” he said.
“Now that we are officially owl friendly, we can join Just Raptors by encouraging local businesses and residents to avoid the use of SGARs.
“We can also encourage other local governments to join us by adopting owl friendly practices.”
Registered wildlife carer Janelle Ende said she’s been overwhelmed with the support she’s received from Council.
“I’ve been trying for a long time to get the message out to the community that SGARs gets passed through the food chain and are impacting our birds of prey, especially owls,” she said.
“This campaign has always been about giving all wildlife a voice and with the City becoming owl friendly, that voice just got a lot louder and stronger.
“It’s going to make a massive difference to our precious wildlife.”
For more information on birds of prey, SGARs and FGARs visit the City’s website here
Image: Barn Owls Photo Credit Janelle Ende
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