Should poison be dropped on a mouse-infested island? California weighs plan

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Farallon Islands are home to squawking seabirds, floppy harbor seals, brightly-freckled arboreal salamanders and rare, delicate camel crickets. They are also home to what ecologists have called a “plague-level infestation” of European house mice.

On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission will vote on a proposal to eradicate the invasive rodents from the islands, located just off the San Francisco coast, by dropping 3,000lb of poisoned bait from helicopters. If the contentious plan moves forward and earns approval from the regional director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), it could be implemented starting in the autumn of 2023.

The vote marks the culmination of years-long debate over how to address the Farallones mouse infestation. Officials from the FWS have been developing a plan to use rodenticide since the early 2000s, saying that the mice – whose population can reach up to 60,000 in the fall – are a threat to endemic species of birds, insects and reptiles.

The agency described the strategic use of rat poison as the only feasible solution to fully exterminate the mice, which breed and reproduce quickly.

But critics say that sprinkling rodenticide – which is also toxic to birds and other animals – is too risky. They’re skeptical that “nuking the island with a poison that kills everything” could end well, said Richard Charter, a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation, who helped in the founding of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/should-poison-be-dropped-on-a-mouse-infested-island-california-weighs-plan/ar-AARSaXN

[Budi]

1. Are there any other suggestions to do the intended job without ...

...killing off every other living thing on the island?

There must be another method available to rid the menace.
Any great minds wanna weigh in?

[abqtommy]

7. Cats eat mice and rats too. And if science can make genetic changes in mosquitos to

protect us from malaria maybe some changes can be made in mice to prevent their
reproduction. I'm definitely not a great mind but I decided to reply anyway.

[Sneederbunk]

2. Parachute in some commando cats.

Although this may not sit well with the birds.

[Ocelot II]

3. But then the cats become an invasive species, and start going after the birds

after they've wiped out the mice.

[Sneederbunk]

5. Drop males only.

[Fresh_Start]

6. If you drop off only neutered cats....or only male cats

managing the population of cats will be feasible.

[jpak]

4. New Zealand has had success in doing this on some islands

infested with invasive mammals.

They quickly reestablished native endangered species.

Amazing islands to visit.

[Ferrets are Cool]

8. SO? Let's kill everything to get rid of the rats.

Yeah, that sounds right. Sheesh

After giving this TWO minutes of thought, feed them something that makes them infertile. Problem solved, right?