Bill Severely Restricting Use of Rodenticides Signed Into Law

SACRAMENTO – Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) thanked Governor Newsom during a virtual news conference today for signing AB 1788 (Bloom, Stern, Friedman), which severely tightens the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) until  the state’s Department  of Pesticide  Regulation (DPR) does a complete re-evaluation of the use of the deadly poisons here in California.

“California’s wildlife is hurtling down the path of extinction, especially the lions of the Santa Monica Mountains, and the reckless use of rat poison is a major driver,” said Stern, a coauthor of the bill and the Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee.  “This is one of three key pieces needed to stop extinction on our watch: poison, poaching and passage.  Beyond this poison prohibition, we are on track to get these lions listed as endangered species to prevent poachers from shooting them, as one did to P-56 earlier this year.  The final, critical step will be securing safe passage across our freeways starting with the Wildlife Corridor at Liberty Canyon along the 101.”

Following the urging of Stern and many others, the California Fish and Game Commission unanimously voted in April to declare mountain lions as possible candidates to be placed under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).  The vote triggered a 12-month review process by state’s Department of Fish & Wildlife to determine if the CESA protections for the mountain lions will become permanent.  During the review process, the CESA protections for the mountain lions will be in effect

As for the Wildlife Corridor at Liberty Canyon along the 101, Stern worked to secure a $5 million grant from the state’s Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) in August 2020.  The project, which will cost an estimated $88 million, would build a 200-foot long overpass across the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon to allow mountain lions and other wildlife to move from one side of the freeway to the other.  

AB 1788 was supported by dozens of environmental and animal rights organizations, include Poison Free Malibu, Poison Free Agoura, Californians for Pesticide Reform, the cities of Agoura Hills, Los Angeles, Malibu, Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks, the Conejo Valley Audubon Society, and the Friends of L.A. River.

The bill will take effect on January 1, 2021.

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