Barn owls, great horned owls, and other raptors are dying from secondary rodenticide poisoning after consuming prey animals that have ingested anticoagulant rat poisons — a preventable welfare crisis.
Owls poisoned by secondary rodenticide exposure die slowly from anticoagulant toxicity — internal hemorrhage, weakness, inability to hunt, and eventual death over days to weeks. The process is prolonged and involves progressive physiological deterioration that compromises the bird's ability to maintain normal behavior. Wildlife rehabilitation centers regularly receive poisoned raptors, most of which cannot be saved. This welfare harm flows from residential and agricultural rodent control practices that could be modified to use lower-persistence alternatives.