COCKBURN is set to become officially “owl friendly”.
The council has adopted BirdLife Australia’s Action Kit to protect the city’s threatened owl population.
As part of the scheme, the council will encourage residents to steer away from rodenticides which can kill owls via second-hand ingestion.
Currently, second generation anticoagulant rodenticides are the most popular and effective method to kill rats and mice, but they are so strong they can be fatal to any animal who ingests the poisoned rodents.
There can be a significant lag between ingesting an SGAR bait and death, giving owls ample time to hunt the rodents and die from second-hand poisoning.
Cockburn councillor Phoebe Corke flagged the move back in February and says it is vital councils do what they can to minimise the “horrendous effects” of SGARs.
“It’s slightly more expensive to get the first-generation baits or traps as a way of killing the vermin,” Cr Corke said.
“But if it’s going to save the owls, it’s got to be done, it’s a no-brainer.”
Cr Corke hopes to see SGARs off the Australian market soon, following in the footsteps of other countries in Europe and North America.
“There’s so much evidence about the widespread impact on wildlife and damage that they’re doing,” Cr Corke said.
“We’re trying to get the other member councils of the Perth South West Metropolitan Alliance to follow our lead as well.”
Cr Corke, who is the Cockburn representative on the PSWMA’s environmental forum, plans to discuss being an owl friendly council at the next meeting and says other council are already enthusiastic.
Cockburn will only use first generation anticoagulant rodenticides on its properties and facilities, though they need to be consumed numerous times before causing death.
But they don’t generally kill anything apart from the intended target, meaning wildlife can consume the dead animal relatively safely.
The Council will also continue its use of mouse and rat traps in favour of the second-generation baits, and its contracts with pest control companies will also be altered to include the details of the owl friendly policy.
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER