Tell Bega Valley Shire Council to Stop Poisoning Wildlife.
Bega Valley Shire Council's contractor uses Ditrac — brodifacoum, one of the most persistent SGARs — as its default product for rodent control. Brodifacoum accumulates in native predators through secondary poisoning, threatening the owls, quolls, and wildlife of the South Coast's extensive national park estate. Send a direct email to the Chief Executive Officer asking them to transition away from SGARs.
The contractor's preferred rodenticide is brodifacoum — one of the most persistent SGARs in the class.
Secondary poisoning of native wildlife
SGARs accumulate in the tissue of poisoned rodents and remain lethal for days. Native predators — powerful owls, wedge-tailed eagles, raptors, quolls, and antechinus — are exposed when they eat affected animals. Research led by Prof. Raylene Cooke and Assoc. Prof. John White at Deakin University has documented SGAR toxins in the livers of native predators across Australia.
Active regulatory review by the APVMA
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is currently reviewing SGAR registrations following evidence of widespread non-target harm. Councils continuing to use these products risk being on the wrong side of an emerging regulatory shift.
Effective alternatives already exist
Non-anticoagulant products such as Selontra (colecalciferol) provide effective rodent control with no secondary poisoning risk to native wildlife. Bega Valley Shire Council can direct its contractor to specify SGAR-free alternatives as the default — a straightforward contract update that protects the wildlife surrounding the Bega Valley's extensive national park estate.