Wildlife in California — such as northern spotted owls, mountain lions, and the San Joaquin kit fox — will soon be safer from dangerous and deadly rat poisons, thanks to the passing of legislation banning several rodenticides.
AB 2552, also known as the Poison-Free Wildlife Act, adds to the list of poisons prohibited in California. It restricts the use of rat poisons consisting of diphacinone, chlorophacinone, or warfarin so that they may no longer be used in wildlife habitat areas and bans their sale. While many anticoagulant rodenticides were first restricted in 2020’s California Ecosystems Protection Act, the restrictions left some major gaps that this new legislation fills.