Wildlife species are being
exposed to high levels of rat poison in northwest California, with illegal
marijuana farms the most likely source point, according to a study led by the
University of California, Davis, with the California Academy of Sciences.
The study, released in the
journal Avian Conservation and Ecology, showed that seven of the 10
Northern Spotted Owls collected tested positive for rat poison, while 40
percent of 84 barred owls collected also tested positive for the poison.
The study is the first published
account of anticoagulant rodenticide in Northern Spotted Owls, which are listed
as a threatened species under federal and state Endangered Species acts.
The study area encompasses
Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties. It supports previous accounts that
rat poison is contaminating the food web in this region, as the primary food
source for owls—rodents—is being contaminated.
Timberland converting to
marijuana farms
Driving the issue is the increasing conversion of private timberland into private, illegal and unpermitted marijuana cultivation sites. These sites often overlap with designated critical habitat for Northern Spotted Owls, and the owls feed at their edges.
Driving the issue is the increasing conversion of private timberland into private, illegal and unpermitted marijuana cultivation sites. These sites often overlap with designated critical habitat for Northern Spotted Owls, and the owls feed at their edges.
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