A Saanich woman seeking protected status for a green space on Kings Road is hoping nearby residents will help protect wildlife by not using rat poison.
Deanna Pfeifer has been calling for an end to the use of rodenticides ever since discovering a dead barred owl last November. Testing revealed it died with two different rat poisons in its body.
“I don’t think any owls have returned to the park yet,” Pfeifer said.
She lives in the Saanich neighborhood that borders Royal Jubilee Hospital and contains the 5.5 acres of natural lands that residents have taken to calling Kings park, because of its proximity to Kings Road.
Pfeifer and her husband, Rob Vanzella, were both part of the community push to see Kings park protected after owner B.C. Hydro declared it surplus. They are now active in the community campaign to raise money toward its purchase.
Last year, Saanich council agreed to buy the land from B.C. Hydro for $5.5 million. Part of the purchase plan is for residents to raise half that amount, $2.75 million, in a campaign expected to wrap up by August.
Now Pfeifer has taken on the role of raising awareness about the dangers rat poisons pose to wildlife.
She learned the two poisons identified in the dead owl were the rodenticides brodifacoum and bromadiolone, two new-generation poisons.
Since 2013, Health Canada has required manufacturers to apply labels identifying the two poisons as appropriate for use by only pest-control specialists and farmers.
In B.C., the Ministry of Environment requires vendors to record personal contact details from buyers and submit annual reports to the ministry.
But Pfeifer said she sees no need to use such lethal poisons in a suburban neighborhood. A total municipal ban is impossible, but she believes there are alternatives to rodenticides, such as encouraging more owls, which can eat about six rats a night.
“There are some very cool ways to do things without using rat poisons,” she said. “We could steward the land [in Kings park] by building owl boxes.
“Rats are around and they are part of the city,” Pfeifer added. “But we need to make sure people are following the rules, the vendors, the purchasers, and offering alternatives to the people.”
Those who work with raptors such as owls and other birds of prey say it’s difficult to quantify the numbers of creatures affected by poisons because good statistics are almost impossible to find.
Rats eat the poison and as they are weakened and dying, become tempting prey for predators, which ingest the poison when they eat the rodent. But it’s difficult to know how many poisoned raptors or other predators die unnoticed.
Marguerite Sans, senior wildlife rehabilitation specialist with the SPCA Wild ARC, said poison is often suspected in sick birds of prey or mammals, but post-mortem analysis is expensive.
“But we definitely encourage people not to use rodenticides because it does affect other wildlife,” she said.
Robyn Radcliffe of the Raptor Rescue Society said she doesn’t see a way poisons can ever be used without harming wildlife.
“I get it, it’s a tough one because rats can become a huge problem for people,” Radcliffe said. “But we need to find better options than poisons.
“The reality is when you are using rat poison, you are often poisoning other animals. We need to come up with other control options that are sustainable with wildlife.”
