We have had the following message in from the Care2 Petition Site:
Barn owls in the United Kingdom are facing extinction — many dying from rat poison.
The barn owl used to be a common sight in the United Kingdom, but now the birds have become increasingly endangered. One of the biggest causes of barn owl deaths is rat poison — and the government isn’t doing everything it could to help them.
To get rid of rats throughout the United Kingdom, farmers and civil servants frequently use rodenticide. But the rats aren’t the only animals who suffer: animals that eat rats, including barn owls, are also poisoned. In 2010, 91% of the dead barn owls in a contaminated area had been exposed to rat poison, and that number just keeps growing.
Kestrels, red kites and other birds of prey have also died in huge numbers from ingesting rat poison.
These poisons should be used as a last resort, not f irst choice, and they should only be used by licensed, trained pest control officers. Ask the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to introduce proper regulation on rodent poisons — before it’s too late to save barn owls.
For more information and to sign the petition, click on SAVE THE BARN OWLS