Vertebrate Pest Control and Welfare Standards

Vertebrate pest control using rodenticides, traps, and other methods causes significant wildlife welfare harm; alternatives and welfare-focused approaches are available.

Key Facts

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) cause prolonged internal bleeding over 4-7 days
SGARs bioaccumulate in raptors and predators that consume poisoned rodents, causing secondary poisoning
Humane lethal traps such as the Fenn trap and Kania trap are significantly more welfare-positive than glue traps
Integrated pest management approaches emphasize habitat modification to reduce rodent attraction
Several jurisdictions have restricted SGAR availability to professional users due to environmental and welfare concerns

Welfare Considerations

Vertebrate pest control causes welfare harm that is largely invisible because deaths occur privately rather than visibly. Anticoagulant poisoning causes prolonged internal hemorrhage over multiple days, with escalating distress. Glue traps cause intense struggling, self-inflicted injury, dehydration, and slow death. These welfare costs are rarely considered when pest control products are selected. Alternatives including snap traps that cause rapid death, cage traps that allow live release, and habitat modification that reduces rodent access provide equivalent pest management with significantly reduced welfare costs.

What You Can Do

Never use glue traps, which cause prolonged suffering without killing rodents quickly
Choose snap traps or live capture alternatives over rodenticides for household pest control
Advocate for restrictions on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides to professional use only
Use integrated pest management approaches that address rodent access and attraction before lethal control