Demand EPA Ban The Famous Avian Poison Avitrol

Avitrol is an avian venom that attacks the nervous system of victims, causing disorientation, seizures and slow, painful death.

Avitrol is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is currently reviewing registration of the poison under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in a process that occurs approximately every 15 years. The EPA is accepting public comments on its proposed Interim Resolution (PID) for Avitrol until May 17th. This PID proposes changes to Avitrol’s labeling that are designed to reduce exposure to poison in non-target animals as well as prevent groundwater contamination. While these changes may help some species of animals, they are completely unable to cope with the terrible suffering this neurotoxin causes. Your vote is needed to tell the EPA that the label change is not enough – it needs to opt out of renewing Avitrol’s registration for this awful product to be taken off the market!

Please follow these instructions carefully to submit a public comment:

1. Visit the comments page and be sure to start your comment with the following text: “This comment refers to 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) Case 0015 in Docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0030, also known as Avitrol.”
2. Be sure personalize the rest of your comment. Reviewers pay less attention to comments that appear to be copied from another source. You can take inspiration from our discussion theses below, but be sure to use your own words and feel free to do more research on the issue.
3. Click “Submit Comment” to submit your comment.

Here are some discussion topics to keep in mind when making a personalized public comment:

• No species, whatever the circumstances, should be exposed to the brutal effects of neurotoxins such as Avitrol, especially when humane alternatives exist. The EPA must refuse to renew the registration.
• Pest control companies often tell potential clients that Avitrol is a humane herd-breaking agent that scares birds away from areas where they are not needed. But it is highly toxic and causes immense suffering to birds and other animals.
• Indiscriminate poisons. “Non-target” species such as protected songbirds are often killed by Avitrol, and predators such as carnivores, foxes, hawks, cats and dogs die from secondary poisoning after feeding on dead or dying birds. Although changes in venom labeling designed to reduce direct exposure to non-target species may help some individuals of certain species, the risk of secondary poisoning remains.
• According to the EPA’s own information, an astounding 84% of Avitrol’s reported “misuse incidents” were identified as deliberate… It is unclear how changing the label will prevent further deliberate misuse.
• Poisoning birds does not solve any of the problems they cause. As long as areas remain attractive or accessible to birds, more will simply move from adjacent areas to fill newly vacated niches. However, Avitrol Corporation, tyrannical wildlife control operators and pest control companies refuse to disclose this fact to potential customers because the only guarantee that this poison will be used is repeat deals.

After submitting a comment, please share this warning with all your contacts. Thank you for taking action to protect birds and other animals threatened by Avitrol!