Tell Maitland City Council to Stop Poisoning Wildlife.
Maitland City Council uses Contrac — containing bromadiolone, a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide — for rodent control. Bromadiolone accumulates in native predators through secondary poisoning, threatening the owls, raptors, and wildlife of the Hunter Valley. Send a direct email to the Chief Executive Officer asking them to stop.
Bromadiolone in use in the Hunter Valley — with wildlife-friendly alternatives available.
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. Maitland City Council can direct its contractors to replace Contrac with wildlife-friendly alternatives — a straightforward specification update that requires no compromise to rodent management outcomes.