The death of a barred owl in Saxe Point Park just before Esquimalt council voted to ban rodenticides was an “unfortunate coincidence,” said Mayor Barb Desjardins.
There were concerns the owl died from eating a poisoned rat, just as there were with the deaths of at least seven other owls around the region in 2020.
“The fact that that owl died [Monday], maybe it’s going to galvanize something and we can all really get behind this,” Desjardins said, adding that people in the community have been supportive.
She said council has had information on the banning of anticoagulant rodenticides — which kill rats through internal bleeding — for the past few months and unanimously decided to take the step on Monday. The vote came after council received a staff report recommending the ban.
Businesses and residents are still allowed to use rodenticides on their own properties, but Desjardins said staff will be trying to persuade them not to by giving them information on rodenticides’ “harmful effects and impacts.” Options like traps will also be discussed.
Desjardins will be taking the cause to the provincial government by writing a letter about Esquimalt’s decision. She said she will be requesting a provincewide ban on anticoagulant rodenticides and asking for the development of alternative approaches to rodent control.
