Reposted from Earthjustice Blog:

http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-may/victory-d-con-to-be-killed-off

VICTORY: D-CON TO BE KILLED OFF

By Terry Winckler | Friday, May 30, 2014

d-CON products

d-CON—the rodent killer that also poisons children and slaughters cats, dogs and a host of wild creatures—will stop being made by year’s end under an agreement reached by the manufacturer and the Environmental Protection Agency.

This is a major victory for Earthjustice and the groups it represented in working with the EPA to end production and sales of the rodenticide, said Greg Loarie, the Earthjustice attorney who led the effort. The EPA sought a total ban on the poison after its maker, Reckitt Benckeiser, refused to take more modest safeguarding steps.

An anti-coagulant, d-CON and products like it kill mice and other rodents, which in turn are eaten by such predator species as hawks, owls and coyotes, and pets like cats and dogs. An estimated 60,000 children are poisoned by the products each year.

The manufacturer has known for years about d-CON’s unintended deaths and injuries, but refused to adopt even the smallest protections for children and wildlife, Loarie said.

“Under the deal, Reckitt would agree to stop production by Dec. 31, 2014, and stop distribution after March 2015.  Retailers could then continue to sell what they have until it’s gone,” Loarie said.

http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-may/victory-d-con-to-be-killed-off

I don't know what causes the average burn out point for Animal Rights Activism saturation. 

But I do know that small breaks now and then are needed, from focusing on relentless Wolf Buddy deaths by poaching and hunting, or any other Buddy horror, in order to continue on the path of A.R. Activism. 

#WolvesDoNotQuit, but we are also not radical idiots. Don't get crazy, folks, it will set us back.

Here's to a little hope that there are plenty of decent humans on Earth, who do care for our Buddies. 

#SpayAndNueter 
#AdoptDontShop

THE BIGGEST THREAT TO U.S.WILDLIFE?

CATS

Reposted from ANIMALS

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/31/the-biggest-threat-to-u-s-wildlife-cats/

Michael Duva / Getty Images
RELATED

By Kharunya Paramaguru @Kharunya

Jan. 31, 2013

Friendly Felines are Really Natural Born Killers, US Study Finds Reuters Alert Net
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/friendly-felines-are-really-natural-born-killers-us-study-finds

Follow @TIMENewsfeed
Earlier this month a New Zealand economist named Gareth Morgan made plenty of enemies among cat lovers by insisting that mankind needed to ditch its feline friends before they decimate local bird and animal species.

According to a new study, published Jan. 29 by the journal Nature Communications, 
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/full/ncomms2380.html
things may be even worse than Morgan thought.  Cats are apparently responsible for killing birds and mammals on a massive scale. Based on a systematic review and quantitative estimates never before conducted in the mainland U.S., researchers found that house cats were responsible for the deaths of between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds and between 7 and 20 billion mammals each year.

The cute, purring bundles of fur have long been recognized for their killer instinct and excellent hunting ability, and have been blamed for the global extinction of up to 33 species, reports the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21236690

( VIDEO: Welcome to Your Cat’s Dream Home)
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/25/video-welcome-to-your-cats-dream-home/

The new research, by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, challenges previously held assumptions about the volume of animals killed by cats. “For the last 20, 30, 40 years the number that has been batted around as a max was about 500 million,” said Peter Marra, one of the senior authors behind the study, to National Geographic.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/29/130129-pets-cats-killers-birds-animals-science/

The authors discovered that the majority of kills could be attributed to ownerless cats, including barn cats, strays and feral colonies. The research showed that the animals largely prey on non-native mice and rats in densely populated urban areas, while in rural areas they target mice, shrews, voles, squirrels and even rabbits.

(MORE: Cat Travels 200 Miles to Return to Owners and Baffle Scientists)
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/23/cat-travels-200-miles-to-return-to-owners-and-baffle-scientists/#ixzz2JTyxgcE8

Faced with the staggering numbers, the study’s authors have gone so far as to suggest that cats are “likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for U.S. birds and mammals.”

According to Reuters, domestic cats are classified among the 100 worst non-native invasive species in the world. The authors suggest that owners could do more to limit the impact of their pets: “A major reason for the current nonscientific approach to management of free-ranging cats is that the mortality from cat predation is often argued to be negligible compared with other (human-caused) threats.”

(MORE:  New Zealand Economist: Abolish Pet Cats to Save Birds )
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/23/new-zealand-economist-abolish-pet-cats-to-save-birds/#ixzz2JTwQNgKy

But it will be difficult convincing American cat lovers of that. Cat ownership has risen from about 56 million in the mid-1990s to 80 million today. The American Cat Fanciers Association also questioned the findings. “Yes, they’re going to catch the occasional bird. But I don’t personally believe they’re responsible for mass death and destruction,” Carol Barbee, president of the association, said to Reuters.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/friendly-felines-are-really-natural-born-killers-us-study-finds

MORE: Killer Kitties: Study Proves They’re Not as Innocent As They Look
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/08/09/killer-kitties-study-proves-theyre-not-as-innocent-as-they-look/#ixzz2JU0SKTDu


http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/31/the-biggest-threat-to-u-s-wildlife-cats/