Alpha-chloralose is a hypnotic compound with anaesthetic properties. It has been used for general anaesthesia in laboratory animals and also as an avicide and rodenticide overseas. Many pest control contractors will offer what they perceive as being more sensitive clients the option of having pigeons trapped on their property and then removed to be released elsewhere rather than having them killed. Anyone that is offered this service should be aware that it would be highly unlikely for pest control contractors to release

Cholecalciferol is a non-anticoagulant rodenticide often recommended as an alternative to anticoagulants (ARs) in areas where rats or mice are resistant to ARs (Rodenticide Resistance Action Group) 2021). Cholecalciferol, or Vitamin D3, is the naturally occurring form of Vitamin D, essential for the healthy development and function of mammals. Vitamin D is necessary for the formation of normal bone, but in high concentrations interferes with calcium balance, promoting excessive intestinal absorption of calcium and reabsorption of bone materials, leading to calcification of soft tissues, particularly in the major arteries, heart and kidneys (Defra 2011). As with ARs, poisoned bait must be properly protected from children and, as far as possible, from non-target animals. Outdoors, bait should be placed inside a secure, tamper-resistant bait box unless it can be placed under suitable existing cover. Where bait is used indoors, access by children and any non-target animals must also be restricted. If in doubt, use a bait box. Animals trapped in poor quality traps may experience pain, fear and anxiety before becoming unconscious For rats it’s important to identify areas of activity; faeces are usually a good indicator. Grain or Paste can be placed down burrows. Bait stations can be located along the runs between burrows and likely feeding points. Our action plan for animal welfare. Defra, UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/action-plan-for-animal-welfare. Access to this chemical is restricted in WA. It is a Schedule 6 poison and a restricted chemical product and can only be supplied to or used by an authorised person (NSW Department of primary industries: Pesticides used in the management of vertebrate pests).Once a product has gained originating status, it is considered 100% originating. This means that if that product is then used in the production of another product, its full value is considered originating and no account is taken of non-originating materials within it. BASC and Natural Resources Wales. 2016. Grey squirrel control with live capture traps; guidance from the BASC. BASC and NRW, UK. https://www.britishredsquirrel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Grey-Squirrel-Best-Practice.pdf. Anticoagulant poisoned rodents are likely to experience severe to extreme welfare impacts for days before dying and are thought to remain conscious throughout. Anticoagulants are one of the least humane methods of rodent control and should therefore only be used as a last resort. Haemorrhaging occurs into organs and body cavities, including the lungs, as well as in the skull, which is very painful in humans. Bleeding into the brain may cause convulsions or paralysis. Behaviour is compromised, making poisoned animals more vulnerable to predation. Animals will experience severe pain, breathlessness, weakness, thirst, dizziness, anxiety and fear ( Baker et al. 2022). AR poisoned rodents die from anaemia or because blood loss causes organ failure. The UK’s Pesticide Safety Directorate described this method as ‘markedly inhumane’ as a result ( (Pesticides Safety Directorate) 1997). During treatment with rodenticides, rats and mice may sometimes be found poisoned but still alive. Such target animals should be humanely killed immediately and their carcases disposed of safely. Alphachloralose can only legally be used against mice, indoors and where the temperature is below 150C). To our knowledge, the welfare impacts of alphachloralose on mice have not been assessed. Warfarin, coumatetralyl, or chlorophacinone – Warning: Use only as a last resort– widely available first-generation anti-coagulants. Inhumane. Death is very slow. Bait covering ineffective. Fairly high risk of secondary poisoning. Far less toxic, and metabolises out of the body faster, than those listed below. Rats resistant in some areas. Read the rat poison products list.

N.B. This advice does not relate to multi-catch mouse live traps. The welfare impact of such traps has not been determined and so at this time we would not recommend their use. Warning: All poisons listed below should only be used as a last resort where non-toxic and less-toxic methods have been tried and a significant rodent problem still endangers humans. Yamamoto, K., Y. Yamamoto, and H. Kikuchi. 1983. The effects of drowning media on the lung water content: an experimental study on rats, International Journal of Legal Medicine, 90: 1-6. Chloralose is often abused for its avicide properties. In the United Kingdom, protected birds of prey have been killed using the chemical. The European Commission is reviewing this guidance and a decision will be made in 2022 about establishing a voluntary trap certification scheme based on this. In the meantime, several types of rat and mouse trap have been tested by the German Environment Agency and shown to meet at least the Category B welfare standard – these can be recommended and are listed below. Providing the scheme goes ahead, this list will be updated to show which traps meet Category A and which meet Category B.Harmonised classification and labelling is a legally binding classification and labelling for a substance, agreed at European Community level. Harmonisation is based on the substance’s physical, toxicological and eco-toxicological hazard assessment. Coumatetralyl, a first generation anticoagulant, was introduced into the European market in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Initial claims the coumatetralyl was effective against warfarin resistant populations of rats and mice were not fully substantiated in the field. Although a higher mortality was achieved against resistant populations, complete control was not obtained. Coumatetralyl is about as effective as warfarin against warfarin susceptible populations. Coumatetralyl can be used both indoors and outdoors by professional pest controllers. The EC or list number is the primary substance identifier used by ECHA. CAS (Chemical Abstract Service) registry number Every product traded under a free trade agreement has a product specific rule that must be met to show the product: To our knowledge, the only country that regulates snap traps is Sweden and apparently this is largely ignored

Substances may have impurities and additives that lead to different classifications. If at least one company has indicated that the substance classification is affected by impurities or additives, this will be indicated by an informative sentence. However, substance notifications in the InfoCard are aggregated independently of the impurities and additives. To minimize potential risks to children or pets in the home, EPA proposes to include use directions on the pesticide label. Users are instructed to: Rule: Change to tariff heading (CTH), provided that a) all the materials of chapter 4 used are wholly obtained and b) either:

Bait/toxin products

Bat Conservation Trust. Current in 2022. Controlling rats and mice. Bat Conservation Trust, UK. https://www.bats.org.uk/advice/im-working-on-a-building-with-bats/controlling-rats-and-mice. Multi feed baits will by their nature take longer to work due to the requirement of the target species to return and feed numerous times before reaching a lethal dose. Ryan, EA. 2021. Non-target interactions and humane evaluation of a captive bolt trap on commensal rodents. MSc thesis, University of British Columbia.

Brodifacoum, a second generation anticoagulant, introduced in the early 1980s, has perhaps the highest rodent toxicity of all the anticoagulant rodenticides. When introduced it was found to be effective against susceptible and first generation anticoagulant resistant rodent. Because of its higher toxicity and other characteristics, brodifacoum is able to deliver and acute LD50 dose through its consumption in bait of less than 10% of the average daily food intake of both rats and house mice. This high toxicity does not reduce the average time of death of the rodents nor does it reduce the average time taken to control an infestation. It does decrease the amount of bait that has to be consumed to ingest a lethal dose and potentially the number of days over which bait consumption takes place. The ‘Properties of concern’ section shows ECHA-assigned graphical indicators for certain substance properties that are regarded as being of relevance or importance to human health and/or the environment based on the information provided to the Agency.The molecular formula identifies each type of element by its chemical symbol and identifies the number of atoms of each element found in one discrete molecule of the substance. This information is only displayed if the substance is well–defined, its identity is not claimed confidential and there is sufficient information available in ECHA’s databases for ECHA’s algorithms to generate a molecular structure. Molecular structure A change in commodity code means non-originating materials must have a change on the correct level to be able to have originating status. The change can be on a chapter (2-digit level of the Harmonised System), heading (4-digit level of the Harmonised System) or subheading (6-digit level of the Harmonised System) and usually applies to all non-originating materials. as a deliberate means of population reduction. Some further alternative lethal techniques are permissible under Special Licence, such as the use of mist nets and stupefying baits.