Tell Wingecarribee Shire Council to Stop Poisoning Wildlife.
Wingecarribee Shire Council is using Ditrac Blox (brodifacoum) and Big Cheese (bromadiolone) — two SGARs — in its operations. These products accumulate in native predators through secondary poisoning, threatening wildlife across the Southern Highlands escarpment. Send a direct email to the General Manager asking them to stop.
Two SGARs in use across the Southern Highlands — 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 alternatives such as Selontra (colecalciferol) provide effective rodent control without the secondary poisoning risk that SGARs carry. Replacing Ditrac Blox and Big Cheese with wildlife-friendly alternatives is a straightforward contract specification update that requires no compromise to rodent management outcomes.