SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Wildlife groups introduced a bill today in the California legislature to expand restrictions on toxic rat poisons and allow community members to bring legal action against their illegal use and sale.

The Poison-Free Wildlife Act, or Assembly Bill 2552, would expand the existing rodenticide moratorium to include first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides chlorphacinone and warfarin. The state has laws restricting some rat poisons, but people, pets and wildlife continue to be harmed by them. This bill offers additional safeguards from the most toxic rat poisons and provides a framework for state regulators to develop stronger restrictions for their use.

“Rat poison was intended to control pests but instead has led to suffering and death for birds, hawks, foxes and so many other innocent wildlife,” said Lisa Owens Viani director of Raptors Are The Solution. “Knowing there are safer alternatives out there, it makes perfect sense to take these dangerous poisons off the market. Deadly rodenticides don’t have a place in a safe, humane community.”

The legislation, which is co-sponsored by the Center for Biological Diversity and Raptors Are The Solution, breaks new ground in California law by allowing community members to assert the rights of animals and challenge the illegal use and sale of rodenticides in court. This will reduce the enforcement costs for state and local officials.

“The public should be given the chance to challenge those who skirt the law and hurt our pets and wild neighbors,” said J.P. Rose, a senior attorney at the Center. “Animals experience stress, fear and pain. This sensible piece of legislation allows them to be treated with decency and compassion.”

Toxic rat poisons are intended for rodents but when other wildlife eat the rodents it results in secondary poisoning and further poisoning throughout the food chain. Some of California’s most iconic species — mountain lions, California condors, San Joaquin kit foxes — suffer decreased immune systems, internal bleeding and even death.

In 2020 California set a moratorium on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. That moratorium was expanded in 2023 to include the first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone. Current law and the bill introduced today allow exemptions if use of the rodenticides is necessary to protect public health, water supplies or agriculture.

Unintended poisoning continues to harm people, pets and wildlife. In 2021 there were more than 3,000 cases of poisoning involving people, including at least 2,300 involving children younger than 6, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Safer alternatives to address rodent infestations include exclusion, sanitation, fertility control and different kinds of traps. Under this bill, there are still more than 100 different rodenticide products available for use. For more information on alternatives to rat poison visit SafeRodentControl.org.