WEYMOUTH When the great horned owlet arrived at New England Wildlife Center s Cape Cod facility, it had so much blood on it that veterinary staff thought it had a serious injury.
But after an examination, the owlet showed tell-tale signs of rodenticide poisoning, which causes hemorrhaging and prevents blood from clotting. The owlet died soon after despite receiving a blood transfusion and vitamin K treatment.
Wildlife experts are urging people dealing with rodents to consider other options besides poison, which causes a drawn-out death and has far-reaching implications on other wildlife that prey on mice and rats.
The office of state Rep. James K. Hawkins, D-Attleboro, is working with advocacy groups to soon file a bill to make the use of rodenticides safer for animals that are often inadvertently poisoned.
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Fur coats and hats are displayed in the window of a fur store in the fur district in Manhattan on March 29, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Massachusetts would become the first state on the East Coast to outlaw the sale of fur products, under legislation introduced Wednesday.
Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis (D-Framingham) and Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield) are sponsoring the bills (SD 1029 and HD 1592), which have the backing of the Humane Society of the United States. The bill s supporters cite cruel, unregulated animal killing methods in the fur industry. Massachusetts is a world leader in animal welfare, Lewis said. Given the overwhelming evidence of inhumane practices in the fur industry, the risks fur production has to our public health and the availability of so many different options for warm and fashionable fabrics, we will not continue to be complicit in unnecessary cruelty.