Cape Cod's Wildlife Dying From Rat Poison

Cape Cod News editorial staff

When Emily Lindblad's yellow lab puppy was just 9 months old, little Luna unwittingly ingested rat poison and spent a month fighting for her life. Luna survived the ordeal, but many animals — including dogs and a range of wildlife — aren't as lucky.

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“Rat poison was not on my radar at all ... We never suspected that it would happen to us ... That it would happen to her."

Emily Lindblad
Pet Parent to Luna

Why is rat poison a problem?

22 November, 2024 – CAPE COD, MA – Emily Lindblad fell in love with Luna's mischievous and energetic personality — but when the yellow lab puppy was just 9 months old, she unwittingly ingested rat poison and spent a month fighting for her life. Luna survived the ordeal, but many animals — including dogs and a range of wildlife — aren't as lucky.

Emily Lindblad and yellow labrador Luna have taken turns saving each other's lives. Two years ago Emily was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms, blood clot blockages in her lungs and heart. "It was very emotional to find out and to survive that ordeal in and of itself," Emily says. She made it out of the hospital, a second chance at life that gave her a newfound zest for going after what she wanted out of life, and she had always wanted a dog.


"So I found Luna who was born the day I got out of the hospital," she said. "I was determined to save her because she I think saved me."


How does rat poison affect dogs?

Rodenticide poisoning was never on Emily's radar as something to be on alert for when walking Luna. She still does not know when or where Luna ingested the rat poison that almost took her life, she just knew something was wrong with her usually energetic and happy puppy.


"She was using the bathroom regularly outside, and then all of a sudden we discovered that she had urinated in the house, and she looked at us guilty and we brought her to the vet," Emily recalls.


What followed was a month in and out of the ICU, thousands of dollars in veterinary bills and a Luna that kept losing weight until she was almost skin and bones. Emily and her husband were advised to start considering letting Luna go but a twist of fate intervened.


"The next day we met a vet who said 'It's not time to give up yet'," said Emily, who added that the vet told them "We are going to do everything we can. We're gonna throw the kitchen sink at her and see if it works." The drugs worked ... and slowly and painstakingly Luna began recovering in her Brewster home.


What are SGARs?

Not all pets with primary or secondary rodenticide poisoning are as lucky. Second generation anti-coagulant rodenticides (SGARs), are potent and efficient not only for controlling rodent infestations, but also for harming and kill carnivores such as foxes, coyotes and birds of prey.


Dr. Priya Patel, Wildlife Medical Director at the New England Wildlife Centers' animal hospital in Barnstable, Cape Wildlife center, explains that animals may eat the carcass of a rodent killed by SGARs and in doing so, it also ingests SGARS that killed the rodent.


Once inside an animal, the SGARs begin their deadly work,  "It interrupts the body's ability to clot blood, and so the animal that eats this poison ends up unfortunately bleeding to death," she said.


How is rodenticide poising identified?

Patel explains that the poison bioaccumulates in the liver where it is stored, so even small doses of the poison will build up in the body. If a carnivore is bruised or bleeding excessively, Dr Patel will by default will test their blood. Though the test is not failproof, non-clotting blood is enough for Patel to immediately start treating the animal with vitamin K, fluids and blood transfusions.


The only way to be 100% certain an animal has rodenticide poisoning is to test liver tissue of deceased animals, which the Wildlife Center does not do – it is expensive and can only be done on already dead animals – but  Patel suspects her organization sees hundreds of poisoned animals every year based on symptoms. 


How common is secondary rodenticide poisoning?

Research from Tufts Wildlife Clinic shows secondary poisoning is increasing. In 2011, the clinic tested 161 deceased birds of prey, 86 per cent of them had rodenticides in their liver tissue. Between 2012 and 2016, 96 per cent of the tests came back positive. And in 2020, the clinic tested 43 red tailed hawks, Massachusetts most common hawk, 100% of the birds were poisoned.


New England Wildlife Centers' Patel believes this increase shows that rat poison is getting more potent, probably because rodents are becoming resistant. This also means the symptoms in her patients are more severe and that the poison lasts for longer in nature, posing a higher risk for more animals to ingest it.


"The ripple effect of using SGARs could have numerous effects to humans as well. So not only are our pets at risk, but potentially our children as well," says Dr. Patel. "And unfortunately, by the time your body is showing clinical signs, it's already been absorbed throughout the body. So at that point, we're only left with the ability to treat supportive care."


She believes the ripple effects could lead to endangered species risking potential extinction in the future. "We don't necessarily realize the lasting effects and how wide those effects can be within the environment," she says.


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In the next part of our ongoing series about rodenticides, LCTV look at current legislation and the solutions and policies advocates are proposing to fight rat infestations without anticoagulant poisons.

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