Resolution 2026-05
WHEREAS, high rodent densities in proximity to humans can create heath concerns that have rightly led humans to seek cost-effective approaches to controlling rodent populations throughout history; and
WHEREAS, advances in organic chemistry throughout the 20th century accelerated the development of increasingly toxic pesticides; and
WHEREAS, second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) were developed in the 1970s to address resistance to first-generation anticoagulants; and
WHEREAS, the properties that increased the effectiveness of SGARs relative to older formulations led to increased risks for non-target species through either direct SGAR consumption or, more commonly, through ingestion of live or dead target animals that consumed the SGARs; and
WHEREAS, extensive peer-reviewed research documents bioaccumulation of SGARs in rodents and other small mammals, leading to secondary poisoning of predators and scavengers; and
WHEREAS, secondary poisoning is pronounced in apex predators, particularly among raptors and mammalian predators; and
WHEREAS, apex predators play key roles in maintaining thriving ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, incidents of accidental ingestion by children and pets causing severe consequences have been documented; and
WHEREAS, this series of observations caused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to assess the risk of SGARs to non-target organisms; and
WHEREAS, U.S. EPA subsequently took a series of actions between 2012 and 2015 to prohibit direct-to-consumer sales, restrict labeled uses, and cancel some products; and
WHEREAS, integrated pest-management approaches emphasize prevention, exclusion, sanitation, habitat modification, trapping, and targeted lower-risk controls before the use of highly persistent toxicants; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, California became the first U.S. state to sign into law a restriction on the use of SGARs, by adopting the California Ecosystems Protection Act, which explicitly references threats to mountain lions and other wildlife; and
WHEREAS, several other U.S. states have introduced legislation to severely restrict the use of SGARs and/or pursued rule-making to further restrict SGARs; and
WHEREAS, the California Ecosystems Protection Act of 2020 established a model framework that broadly restricts SGAR use while preserving limited exemptions for urgent public health needs, invasive species eradication, and critical infrastructure protection; and
WHEREAS, islands and island territories of the United States—including those in Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Pacific Territories—present distinct ecological contexts in which invasive rodents pose direct and severe threats to native and endemic plants and wildlife, and which often lack the native mammalian predators and other non-target species vulnerable to SGARs, such that targeted SGAR use is frequently the most effective and sometimes the best (or only) practicable tool for invasive rodent eradication and biodiversity protection; and
WHEREAS, alternatives to SGARs exist to manage rodent populations with less harmful consequences for non-target species, communities, and ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, use of non-SGAR approaches to rodent management is consistent with the National Wildlife Federation vision statement that centers wildlife, people, and ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, NWF policy resolution 2017-10 set a reasonable precedent by highlighting the potential impacts on non-target species when using anticoagulant pesticides to control feral hog populations; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation recognizes that flexibility in the use of rodenticides to control rodent populations is required to protect human health and sensitive environments; and
WHEREAS, integrated pest-management frameworks are well established and provide a mitigation hierarchy that can be used to reduce the need for chemical controls; and
WHEREAS, that where chemical controls are required to temporarily manage severe conflicts between humans and rodents, safer alternatives to SGARs exist and are available to registered and trained pesticide professionals; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its Annual Meeting assembled June 14-17, 2026, affirms that any permitted use of SGARs should occur only within an integrated pest-management framework, after reasonable nonchemical and lower-risk alternatives have been determined to be ineffective or infeasible, and in a manner designed to minimize exposure to non-target wildlife; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports strong federal and state restrictions on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Use should be restricted to application by U.S. EPA-certified professionals and in states or locations where documented public health, agricultural, infrastructure, invasive species management, or other essential needs cannot reasonable be addressed through safer alternatives.