Ban anticoagulant and neurotoxic rodenticides

AI summary

Petitioners ask to ban anticoagulant and neurotoxic rodenticides for residential, commercial and government use, require IPM with incident reporting, and direct the PMRA to launch an immediate Section 17 review. The government responds that the PMRA has mitigation and incident-reporting systems and will publish a rodenticide re-evaluation for public consultation in early 2027.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Minister of Health Anticoagulant rodenticides are now widely detected in Canadian wildlife, including owls, hawks, foxes, coyotes, and other predators; Neurotoxic rodenticides, including bromethalin, pose severe risks to pets and wildlife and have no antidote; These poisons cause internal bleeding, neurological damage, prolonged suffering, and widespread secondary poisoning when predators consume contaminated rodents; Anticoagulant and neurotoxic rodenticides are also leading causes of accidental pet poisonings in Canada; Numerous Canadian municipalities have already restricted or discontinued their use due to unacceptable ecological and animal-welfare impacts; and Safer and effective alternatives exist, including exclusion, sanitation, snap traps, dry-ice burrow control, and integrated pest management (IPM). We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Health to: 1. Direct the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) to take immediate action to protect wildlife, pets, and public health from anticoagulant and neurotoxic rodenticides, including bromethalin; 2. Ban the sale and use of anticoagulant and neurotoxic rodenticides for residential, commercial, and government use in Canada; 3. Require the PMRA to implement mandatory reporting of wildlife and domestic-animal poisonings linked to rodenticides; 4. Require that the PMRA mandate non-toxic, prevention-first rodent control methods (IPM) before any rodenticide is considered; and 5. Launch an immediate Special Review through the PMRA under Section 17 of the Pest Control Products Act to assess the ecological and public-health risks posed by anticoagulant and neurotoxic rodenticides.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi While Health Canada authorizes the registration of pesticides in Canada, provinces and territories are responsible for regulating (among other things) the use of pesticides within their jurisdiction, including compliance monitoring to ensure the safe application of pesticides. Additionally, provinces and territories may impose further restrictions on the sale or use of pesticides; municipalities are also entitled to further restrict pesticide uses, provided that they have been granted authority to do so by their province/territory. Federally, pesticides are regulated under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA), which is administered by Health Canada’s Pesticides Regulatory Directorate (PRD). Before a pesticide is allowed to be used or sold in Canada, the PRD conducts a rigorous scientific assessment process that provides reasonable certainty that no harm to human health and the environment will occur, and that products have value, when pesticides are used according to label directions. The PRD recognizes that the use of rodenticides and the unintended effects on non-target animals is a growing concern among Canadians and as a result of the last re-evaluation, implemented significant risk mitigation measures for rodenticide products containing the active ingredients brodifacoum, bromadiolone, chlorophacinone, diphacinone, warfarin, zinc phosphide, bromethalin and difethialone (REV2010-17), including for the protection of pets and non-target wildlife. These additional mitigation measures are part of an overall strategy to reduce risk related to the use of rodenticides and were the result of a science-based evaluation of potential risks to human health and the environment, including non-target animals, as well as the value (i.e., contribution to pest management) of the products. The major requirements are as follows: for domestic class rodenticide products: block or solid formulations only and they must be in a form that is reasonably expected to remain in a bait station; loose bait forms and concentrated products are prohibited; domestic class products must always be used in bait stations; products must be sold packaged with bait stations which must meet the bait station requirements; and domestic class products containing second-generation anticoagulants (brodifacoum, bromadiolone and difethialone) are prohibited. for commercial class products which are registered for use in and around structures/buildings: bait must either be placed in tamper-resistant bait stations or in locations not accessible to children, pets, livestock or non-target wildlife; all outdoor, above-ground placements of bait products must be contained in bait stations; tamper-resistant bait stations are required if the bait placement is within reach of pets, domestic animals, non-target wildlife, or children under six years-of-age; the outdoor use of commercial class, concentrated products (such as solution, emulsifiable concentrate, dust, powder) to be diluted into solid or liquid bait is prohibited; the use in residential settings of commercial class, concentrated products is prohibited; the use of difethialone is restricted to indoor use only. The use of brodifacoum had been restricted to indoor use only since 2006 (final decision published under document RRD2006-11). In order to continue to monitor for safety after pesticides are registered, Health Canada collects pesticide incident reports from Canadians. A pesticide incident is a negative effect (adverse reaction) to humans, animals (pets or livestock) or the environment (plants or wildlife) that can result from being exposed to a pesticide. Mandatory reporting of incidents, such as wildlife and domestic animal poisonings linked to rodenticides, is already in place in accordance with the Pest Control Products Incident Reporting Regulations, whereby pesticide registrants and applicants are required to report to Health Canada all incidents associated with their products. Additionally, the public may report health impacts they believe to be related to pesticide exposure to Health Canada’s Incident Reporting Program by completing a Voluntary Incident Report. Incident reporting helps Health Canada assess what the risk is and how similar incidents can be prevented (for instance, by improving a pesticide’s label instructions, adding additional mitigation measures to a pesticide label or providing safety tips to the public). Finally, please note that Health Canada’s PRD is currently re-evaluating the following cluster of rodenticides as per the latest five-yearRe-evaluation and Special Review Work Plan (2025-2030): Brodifacoum Bromadiolone Bromethalin Chlorophacinone Diphacinone (present in free form or as sodium salt) Warfarin (present in free form or as sodium salt) Zinc phosphide Difethialone The proposed re-evaluation decision on the rodenticide cluster is expected to be published for public consultation between January and March 2027. Incidents received since the implementation of the extensive mitigation measures outlined in REV2010-17 will be included in this review to assess whether additional mitigation is warranted for human health, pets, and the environment, including non-target wildlife. Health Canada will publish the proposed re-evaluation decision for public consultation on the Decisions & Updates section of the PRD’s webpage and all interested stakeholders will be invited to submit comments for consideration. Health Canada will consider all comments received during the consultation period prior to finalizing its decision.