GRIFFITH PARK— On Thursday, June 25, The Friends of Griffith Park expressed that it is urging Governor Newsom to implement an emergency moratorium on the use of second-generation anticoagulant poisons. The push for this comes after the death of a juvenile great horned owl.
The Friends of Griffith Park is a non-profit charitable group that “seeks to conserve [the parks] essence, its irreplaceable environment and the history it enfolds.” It is led by officers and the Board of Friends of Griffith Park, which consists of recreation and environmental activists and historic preservationists.
Many great horned owls, as well as other wildlife, have been found dead near Griffith Park throughout the years. In May, a Beachwood Canyon resident found this owl. The Friends of Griffith Park decided to fund a necropsy of it conducted at UC Davis. The necropsy confirmed positive results to anticoagulant rodenticides.
“This is more than just an isolated incident of an owl or other raptor succumbing to rat poisons. Bobcats, mountain lions, gray foxes and coyotes are well-documented victims of rodenticides in our local urban wildlife,” said Dan Cooper, the scientific adviser for Friends of Griffith Park.
The organization advocates for the passage of Assembly Bill 1788, which would ban the sale of second-generation rodenticides. The bill was in the process of getting passed before issues pertaining to COVID-19 took priority.
Friends of Griffith Park President Gerry Hans stated: “In California, both the legislation and the Department of Pesticide Regulation reevaluation concerning the use of anticoagulants is currently sidelined. The only recourse available to the public… is to call upon Gov. Gavin Newsom to enact an emergency moratorium on the use of these products now until the DPR completes its evaluation. We shouldn’t wait.”
