To our horror, a new study found that rodenticides are poisoning bald eagles, our national bird, at an alarming rate. Shockingly, researchers at the University of Georgia found that 83 percent of bald eagles and 77 percent of golden eagles tested positive for these everyday mouse/rat poisons.

Many scientific studies show that if these products do not kill an animal outright, they will cause slow bleeding to death, along with birth defects, and weakening of the immune system. Unintended victims of these poisons include hawks, owls, foxes, mountain lions, bobcats, domestic pets and many other non-targeted animals.

All this proves is that it is time for Connecticut to follow California’s groundbreaking lead by putting a statewide ban on these deadly anticoagulant mouse/rat poisons. California’s bill prohibits most uses of rodenticide poisons which are harming animals throughout California (and other states).

Bald eagles had a close call in the 1960s when DDT caused widespread nesting failures and a precipitous decline throughout the United States. After the insecticide was banned, populations rebounded and the bald eagle was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007.

Working as a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator for birds of prey, we are seeing an increase in these devastating effects firsthand. We watch countless bird patients succumb because they ate prey from our poisoned food chain. We call upon our state legislators to ban these outrageously harmful poisons now to save countless wild and domestic animals from becoming part of the carnage and avoid the DDT tragedy all over again.