Widespread use of poisons in pest control and hunting causes rippling harm through ecosystems, killing non-target wildlife including apex predators and protected species.
Wildlife poisoning from rodenticides and lead ammunition represents chronic, systemic harm to animal populations. Secondary poisoning from rodenticides causes internal hemorrhaging in predators — a prolonged and painful death. Lead poisoning from ingested ammunition fragments causes neurological deterioration, loss of coordination, and slow death over days to weeks. Neither death is instantaneous or painless. The scale is enormous — millions of raptors, mammals, and scavengers affected annually across multiple continents. These harms are entirely preventable through adoption of alternative pest control methods and non-lead ammunition that are commercially available, often at similar cost.