A large horned owl is recovering from an illness from rat poison, the New England Wildlife Center said. A local resident noticed the carnivore picking up tomatoes and other vegetables from their garden and contacted the centre. “While we encourage all patients and friends to explore a healthy diet, we know that this is not a good sign for an obligate carnivore. We were able to capture him without incident and bring him back to our Cape hospital,” the center said. When the bird was examined, it was determined that it was emaciated and that its clotting time was significantly slowed – signs that it was likely the victim of a second generation anticoagulant rat poison, commonly known as rat poison. “This disease occurs when a predator ingests a mouse or rats have ingested the poison and as a result their blood stops correctly clotting,” the center said. “This can lead to systemic illness and in severe cases can be fatal.” Luckily for the owl, wildlife experts can treat it and will likely release it back into the wild after a long period of recovery and rehabilitation. “Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Carnivores across our state are poisoned by SGAR every day,” the center said. Earlier this year, a red fox was brought back to health after falling victim to rat poison. The center urges people to stay away from poisons and explore other methods of pest control.
A great horned owl is recovering from an illness from rat poison, New England Wildlife Center speak.
A local resident noticed the carnivore picking up tomatoes and other vegetables from their garden and contacted the centre.
“While we encourage all patients and friends to explore a healthy diet, we know that this is not a good sign for an obligate carnivore. We were able to capture him without incident and bring him back to our Cape hospital,” the center said.
When the bird was examined, it was determined that it was emaciated and that its clotting time was significantly slowed – signs that it was likely a victim of second generation anticoagulant rat poison, commonly known as rat poison.
“This disease occurs when a predator ingests a mouse or rats have ingested the poison and as a result their blood stops correctly clotting,” the center said. “This can lead to systemic illness, and in severe cases can be fatal.”
Luckily for the owl, wildlife experts can treat it and possibly release it back into the wild after a long period of recovery and recovery.
“Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Carnivores across our state are poisoned by SGAR every day,” the center said.
This early year, a red fox has been restored to health after also falling victim to rat poison.
The center urges people to stay away from poisons and explore other methods of pest control.
