Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides accumulate in predators including raptors, owls, and foxes, causing prolonged internal bleeding and death.
Rodenticide poisoning of non-target wildlife is an invisible but massive welfare harm. Animals that consume poisoned rodents accumulate the anticoagulant in their tissues, suffering days of internal bleeding before dying. The prolonged nature of anticoagulant poisoning means suffering is extensive. Raptors and other predators at the top of the food chain are particularly vulnerable to bioaccumulation. First-generation rodenticides, exclusion methods, and snap traps offer effective rodent control with significantly lower risks to non-target species.