Hello everyone!
My last few posts have been revolving around birds and to continue on with this theme, I will be talking about the effects of pesticides on birds. I was inspired to write about this when I read an article by Rachel Fobar about this issue.
In late August 2020, several residents of London, Ontario reported sightings of many pigeons in distress such as falling out of trees, convulsing, gasping , flapping their wings and dying. Following a necropsy, it was later concluded that they were poisoned with Avitrol, a chemical poison used against birds (Fobar, 2020). Avitrol is approved for use in the United Stated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) though it has been various pars of Canada including London and other US cities. Avitrol is listed as an avicide, substance used to kill birds, by the EPA. Avitrol is also known to be toxic to all vertebrates that ingest it therefore, only licensed pest control professionals are allowed to use it. As such, there were other reports of doves, starlings, blue jays as well as skunks, squirrels and other rodent found dead or appearing ill and disoriented (Butler, 2020). Other then recent reports, there were 2 major incidences in Portland in 2014 and 2018 where crows were described to be “literally raining down from the sky” (Fobar, 2020).
I was curious as to how Avitrol Corporation describes the pesticide therefore I went to their website and obtained these descriptions as shown below:
As you can see, they describes it to be a method of humane bird control with little or no mortality. It is instead described as a “chemical frightening agent” affects the central and motor nervous systems painlessly to induce behaviours that will frighten off other birds.
However, research on the active ingredient, 4-aminopyridine, argues that Avitrol causes pain and unnecessary distress. In addition, multiple events of mass bird deaths also suggests that the product is often used to kill rather than repel birds. There are also worries that Avitrol could possibly cause secondary poisoning as wildlife prey on these birds (Fobar, 2020). From further search on Avitrol Corporation’s website, they state that they “never had reports” of secondary poisoning.
However, based on a study by Mclean & Khan, 2013, they reviewed 29 cases of Avitrol poisoning in non-targeted species which includes 25 dogs, 3 cats and 1 bovine.
Though Avitrol’s labeling meets EPA’s requirements experts say that they are rarely used as intended and it is almost virtually impossible to limit a bird’s consumption. The EPA states that only of the registered pesticides is being used “in a manner inconsistent with its labeling” then the EPA can stop the sale of the product. Despite evidences of multiple mass bird mortality events that dismisses Avitrol claims of “little to no mortality”, EPA concurs with Avitrol that “Given the low expected bird mortality via use of Avitrol compared to alternatives (e.g., shooting),” the product is “humane.”. Bob Sallinger, director of conservation at the Audubon Society of Portland, states that “I think EPA is remiss in licensing this [product] because there’s no way to ensure that you can meet the requirements of the label.”.
The continual usage of Avitrol could well be pushing ourselves into “silent spring” once again. However, as opposition against the use of Avitrol is continuously growing it is hopeful that EPA will eventually stop registering the use of the pesticides.
While reading this article, I was reminded greatly of “Silent Spring” where the indiscriminate use of pesticides had a cost on the environment. Information spread by the chemical industry was taken at face value and well accepted publicly by the government and even the public. We may see the use of pesticide as a very convenient method on our part to get rid of these so-called nuisance. However, we may fail to see the negative impacts it brings to these precious lives and take whatever we read on the label at face value. This further pushes us to be more literate consumers and be more aware of what we are consuming exactly.
That brings me to the end of this post.
See you guys soon!
References
Butler, C. (2020, September 03). Residents say someone is poisoning birds in their east London neighbourhood. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/mornington-avenue-dead-birds-1.5709790
Fobar, R. (2020, October 21). This bird pesticide is legal, but recent deaths are stoking controversy. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/10/birds-poisoned-by-avitrol-avicide-leads-to-city-bans/
Mclean, M. K., & Khan, S. (2013). A Review of 29 Incidents Involving 4-Aminopyridine in Non-target Species Reported to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. Journal of Medical Toxicology, 9(4), 418-421. doi:10.1007/s13181-013-0334-7
