Poison-Free Wildlife Act (California)
A.B. 2552
The Poison-Free Wildlife Act would place a moratorium on some of the most dangerous rodenticides — which cause widespread poisoning of wildlife — with limited exceptions.
Status
The Animal Legal Defense Fund supports this bill.
Sponsors: Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-44)
Introduction Date: February 14, 2024
Rodenticides, also known as rat poisons, cause the unintended poisoning of numerous wildlife species, as well as children and companion animals.
In 2020, California state lawmakers enacted the California Ecosystems Protection Act of 2020 to minimize unintended poisonings from one subset of particularly dangerous rodenticides — second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) — by placing a moratorium on certain uses of these poisons until more comprehensive restrictions are developed.
The state next passed the California Ecosystems Protection Act of 2023, which added the first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (FGAR) diphacinone to the list of rodenticides included in the moratorium. But two remaining FGARs, chlorophacinone and warfarin, were not included in the 2023 law.
Now, state legislators are considering the Poison-Free Wildlife Act (A.B. 2552), which would further protect California animals and human residents from unintentional poisoning by adding chlorophacinone and warfarin to the state’s existing rodenticide moratorium. The bill includes exceptions for the use of these rodenticides in certain limited situations, such as those involving public health. The Poison-Free Wildlife Act would also prohibit the use of anticoagulant rodenticides within 5,000 feet of a wildlife habit area. It would additionally allow community members to bring legal action challenging the illegal use or sale of anticoagulant rodenticides to reduce enforcement costs on state and local officials.
Why is this legislation important? Despite the implementation of prior California legislation addressing rodenticides, recent evidence from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife suggests there is still widespread exposure and deaths to wildlife from SGARs and other anticoagulant rodenticides.
Coalition Support: This legislation is co-sponsored by Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Raptors Are the Solution (RATS), with the support of more than 55 other environmental and wildlife protection organizations.
For more information about animal protection legislation in California and opportunities to take action for animals, visit aldf.org/california.
