Senate Bill S7532B

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7532

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
enacting the restriction of anticoagulant pesticide transactions for
online and retail stores act

 
PURPOSE:

Enacts the Restriction of Anticoagulant Pesticide Transactions for
Online and Retail Stores (RAPTORS) act.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 states the short title.

Section 2 states the legislative intent, which is to ensure that anti-
coagulant rodenticides are used exclusively by DEC certified profes-
sionals to minimize poisoning non-target species; not only raptor birds
of prey, but also humans and pets.
              

Section 3 includes definitions, restricts anticoagulant rodenticide
usage to certified pesticide applicators, and prohibits all usage in
wildlife habitat areas.

Section 4 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Bald Eagle has been the official emblem of the United States since
1782. They're held in such high regard that felony convictions for
violating the Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act can yield a $250,000
fine or two years of imprisonment. However, humans are still killing
Bald Eagles due to a clever loophole in these daunting protection laws:
we're using rats to do it.  When a homeowner or property manager discov-
ers a rodent infestation, they may search online for the "most effective
rat poison" and buy one of the top sponsored products containing an
anticoagulant rodenticide. These pesticides differ from other rat
control methods in 2 unique qualities: 1) A single feeding of Anticoagu-
lant bait is fatal, but it may take 5-9 days for a rodent to actually
die as it gradually becomes more sedated. 2) Due to this delay, the
animals often eat multiple doses, allowing for super-lethal concen-
trations of the rodenticide to accumulate in its body & persist in the
tissue between four months and a year. Unlike other raptors, the Bald
Eagle doesn't typically hunt rats; but they are opportunistic foragers
known to scavenge or prey on small mammals. Careless homeowners and
property managers may also be to blame for the household pets or the
thousands of children and adults who call poison control centers for
anticoagulant exposure, but even when used by professionals for their
intended purpose, anticoagulant rodenticides have nightmarish impacts on
non-target organisms.

A $3 million ecosystem restoration campaign on a rat-infested island off
the coast of Alaska, executed by a federal agency, successfully elimi-
nated the invasive rodents, but lying dead amongst them were 46 bald
eagles, 320 glaucous-winged gulls, one peregrine falcon, and 53 other
birds representing 24 species. Equally troubling, rats are becoming
genetically resistant to anticoagulants like warfarin.  Turkish black
rats and brown rats, common species globally, are showing increases in
genetic mutations that allow for enhanced metabolization & alterations
in enzymes that warfarin attacks.  Continued use of anticoagulants will
likely result in further decreases of effectiveness in rats while
continuing to poison people and other animals. Compared to alternative
pest control methods, one study conducted in homes and rice mills over
two years found that the anticoagulant rodenticide was less effective
than cats, lethal traps, and non-lethal traps. Although the Rat Island
project, genetic mutations, and effectiveness study occurred within the
last two decades, the issue of non-target poisonings has been monitored
by the DEC for over fifty years.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) monitored
the poisoning of non-target wildlife with anticoagulants from 1971
through 1997, and though half the cases involved raptor birds, other
poisoned animals included gray squirrels, raccoons, white-tailed deer,
red foxes, skunks, and opossums. Cornell University found that 68% of
red-tailed hawks had anticoagulants in their systems during a 2022
study, a shocking increase from the 6% DEC recorded in their study. In
March of 2024, Flaco, the famed Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped the
Central Park Zoo, died with lethal doses in his system of 4 different
anticoagulant rodenticides commonly used for pest control in the City.
Tragically, this same call for action went unheard a decade before
Flaco's rise to fame when anticoagulants took the life of Lima, iconic
mate of a famous Manhattan red-tailed hawk named Pale Male. Interesting-
ly, Flaco's toxicology tests also revealed trace amounts of DDE, a
breakdown product of the pesticide DDT, which has been banned in the
United States since the early 1970s following Rachel Carson's Silent
Spring.

Even though EPA declared that anticoagulants pose an "unreasonable risk"
to kids, pets, and wildlife in 2008, and established regulatory hurdles
to minimize the harm that anticoagulant pesticides inflict on non-target
species, the issue has only become more dire. California became the
first state to restrict anticoagulant rodenticides in 2020, and has
since expanded their restriction as Vermont & Connecticut mobilize.
Icons of New York, emblems of the country, and our loved ones at home
can no longer withstand the poison this bill is the legislative antidote
they have needed for over 25 years.

Citations:

American Eagle Foundation:

https://enles.org/what-we-doieducate/leam-about-eazles/bald-eagle-laws-
that-protect/ : :text=The%201972%20a
mendments%20increased9/020civilor%20two%2Ovears%20or./020imprisonment

Anchorage Daily News:

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/rat-island-aapears-he-rat-free/20
09/08/24/;

Audubon: haps://www.audubon.orgintazazinejanuarv-february-9013/
poisons-used-kill-rodents-have-safer

California Assembly:2023-3-14AB 1322 Fact Sheet.pdf
Center for Biological Diversity:

https://www.bioloeicaldiversity.org/campaiens/pesticides
reduction/pdfs/DPR-2013-SGAR-Merno.pdf

Cornell:

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/07/rodenticide- poisoning-widesp-
read-among-tws-red-tailed-hawks

DOI Foundation:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26638-54citeas

EPA:

https://downloads.reeulations.uov/EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0955-0764/content.pdf

Journal of Wildlife Diseases:

https://meridian.allenpress.com/iwd/article-pdf/35/2/187
/2231130/0090-3558-35_2_187.pdf

Mass. Div. of Fisheries & Wildlife:

https://www.mass.t.tov/info-details/masswildlife-monthly-mav-2021

Natl Library of Medicine:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nilt.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6912481/

Natl Library of Medicine:

https://www.nchisdru.nili,gov/pmc/articles/PMC7552224/

NY Times:

https://www.nvtinies.com/2024/03/25/nvrettionlflaco-owl- central-park-
zoo-death-cause.html

NY Times:

https://www.11,ytirnes.com/2014/07/28/ 4reeion/groups-press-state-to-
ban-poisons-that-kill-wildlife.html

Science Direct

https://www.sciencedirect.comisci ence/artic
le/abs/pii/S0048357517305321

Webstaurant Store:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/j1-eaton-709-pn-peanut-butter- flavor-
ba it-blocks-144-I-oz-blocks-paI/6051 T709 PNittml?Innt_source
Poogle&utaunedium
cpc&tunt_campaien=Goo0eShopping&oclid=CjwKCAjw8diwBliAb EiwA7i
stWr-iZNuth8rZXNCTvEERI-116X1w1)9yM6D-ottFYynNEXwc1\10QUTpttatlxoCK.QQOA
vD B wE
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S9069/A10012 - Died in Rules/ Died in Environmental Conserva-
tion

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7532A

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
enacting the restriction of anticoagulant pesticide transactions for
online and retail stores act

 
PURPOSE:

Enacts the Restriction of Anticoagulant Pesticide Transactions for
Online and Retail Stores (RAPTORS) Act.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 states the short title.

Section 2 states the legislative intent to ensure that anti-coagulant
rodenticides are used exclusively by DEC-certified professionals to
minimize poisoning of non-target species, not only raptor birds of prey,
but also humans and pets.

Section 3 amends section 33-1301 of the environmental conservation law,
              

prohibiting the sale of pesticides containing FGARs or SGARs within the
state, as well as defining crucial terms, and outlining the locations in
which this bill does not apply.

Section 4 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Bald Eagle has been the official emblem of the United States since
1782. They're held in such high regard that felony convictions for
violating the Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act can yield a $250,000
fine or two years of imprisonment. Despite the Eagles being a staple of
American tradition, rodenticides have unfortunately led to the poisoning
of the birds due to loopholes in protection laws. When homeowners or
property managers discover a rodent infestation, the top effective rat
poisons return with not only a solution to their issue, but also
products containing an anticoagulant rodenticide.  These pesticides
differ from other rat control methods in 2 unique qualities: 1) A single
feeding of Anticoagulant bait is fatal, but it may take 5-9 days for a
rodent to actually die as it gradually becomes more sedated. 2) Due to
this delay, the animals often eat multiple doses, allowing for super-
lethal concentrations of the rodenticide to accumulate in its body &
persist in the tissue between four months and a year. Unlike other
raptors, the Bald Eagle doesn't typically hunt rats, but they are oppor-
tunistic foragers known to scavenge or prey on small mammals. Not only
can household pets face the adversity of these poisons, but thousands of
children and adults must often call poison control centers for anticoag-
ulant exposure. Even when used by professionals for their intended
purpose, anticoagulant rodenticides have unfortunate impacts on unin-
tended audiences.

A $3 million ecosystem restoration campaign on a rat-infested island off
the coast of Alaska, executed by a federal agency, successfully elimi-
nated the invasive rodents, but lying dead amongst them were 46 bald
eagles, 320 glaucous-winged gulls, one peregrine falcon, and 53 other
birds representing 24 species. Equally troubling, rats are becoming
genetically resistant to anticoagulants like warfarin.  Turkish black
rats and brown rats, common species globally, are showing increases in
genetic mutations that allow for enhanced metabolization & alterations
in enzymes that warfarin attacks.  Continued use of anticoagulants will
likely result in further decreases in effectiveness in rats while
continuing to poison people and other animals. Compared to alternative
pest control methods, one study conducted in homes and rice mills over
two years found that the anticoagulant rodenticide was less effective
than cats, lethal traps, and non-lethal traps. Although the Rat Island
project, genetic mutations, and effectiveness study occurred within the
last two decades, the issue of non-target poisonings has been monitored
by the DEC for over fifty years.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) monitored
the poisoning of non-target wildlife with anticoagulants from 1971
through 1997, and though half the cases involved raptor birds, other
poisoned animals included gray squirrels, raccoons, white-tailed deer,
red foxes, skunks, and opossums. Cornell University found that 68% of
red-tailed hawks had anticoagulants in their systems during a 2022
study, a shocking increase from the 6% DEC recorded in their study. In
March of 2024, Flaco, the famed Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped the
Central Park Zoo, died with lethal doses in his system of 4 different
anticoagulant rodenticides commonly used for pest control in the City.
Tragically, this same call for action went unheard a decade before
Flaco's rise to fame, when anticoagulants took the life of Lima, iconic
mate of a famous Manhattan red-tailed hawk named Pale Male. Interesting-
ly, Flaco's toxicology tests also revealed trace amounts of DDE, a
breakdown product of the pesticide DDT, which has been banned in the
United States since the early 1970s following Rachel Carson's Silent
Spring.

Even though the EPA declared that anticoagulants pose an "unreasonable
risk" to kids, pets, and wildlife in 2008, and established regulatory
hurdles to minimize the harm that anticoagulant pesticides inflict on
non-target species, the issue has only become more dire. California
became the first state to restrict anticoagulant rodenticides in 2020,
and has since expanded its restriction as Vermont & Connecticut mobi-
lize. Icons of New York, emblems of the country, and our loved ones at
home can no longer withstand the poison.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S9069/A10012 - Died in Rules/ Died in Environmental Conserva-
tion

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.