| The little bird was just
sitting on the lawn, unable to fly or move about.
He thought it might be a baby, but saw no parents,
so he brought it to my clinic.
It was young – a fledgling cedar waxwing. But
youth was not the problem. The bird sat on the treatment
table trembling, swaying unsteadily on clenched feet,
head tilted, vocalizing from time to time. Trembling
lead to seizures, then death.
“Classic symptoms of organophosphate poisoning,”
my vet said. One poisoned little bird; one among millions
annually, collateral damage in the war with weeds
and insects.
Why fight this war? Farmers use pesticides to produce
a marketable crop. Homeowners use pesticides to create
a lawn and garden without weeds or insect damage,
to look good. A less compelling reason, yet “
3 times more pesticides are applied per acre to home
lawns and gardens than are applied to agricultural
crops” (Audubon Guide for a Healthy Yard and
Beyond)
“…prompted by concern about the spread
of West Nile Virus, New York State asked counties
to report dead birds to its wildlife pathology laboratory.
After receiving more than 80,000 birds, Dr. Ward Stone
discovered that while the virus was a factor in some
of the deaths, the leading cause was pesticide poisoning.
Common lawn care chemicals were among the most common
toxins.”
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2001/2001-06-22-06.asp
Research the pesticides you use – what, how,
effects, alternatives. If you use a professional service,
insist on knowing the product they use and/or active
ingredients.
If you, your children and pets cannot go near the
treated area right after application, you can be sure
it is potentially harmful to wildlife.
The Extension Toxicology Network, www.pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet.,
gives an excellent overview of the reasons for concern
and profiles many of the pesticides commonly used.
The health of our children, our pets, and our wild
neighbors depends on our using these weapons wisely,
or finding safer alternatives.
|
