Bird-killing poisons to be pulled from Australian shelves

A huge win for native wildlife: bird-killing poisons to be pulled from Australian shelves

Australia is closer than ever to removing bird-killing rat poisons from public sale, following two massive milestones in the fight to protect native wildlife from secondary poisoning. 

After many years of public pressure from BirdLife Australia and other community and environment groups, the federal regulator for pesticides has finally recommended removing the most dangerous rat poisons from retail shelves.

The welcome news comes just months after the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) released its long-delayed review into the use and regulation of rodent poisons in Australia. While the initial review acknowledged the “unacceptable risk” second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) pose to our wildlife, it fell far short on meaningful recommendations to address and prevent secondary poisoning of native wildlife.    

Described by experts as disappointing and ineffective, these proposed reforms were met with widespread public outcry. In response, BirdLife Australia supporters alone made more than 10,000 submissions to the APVMA demanding stronger action on SGARs – and this time, they listened.  

BirdLife Australia is celebrating the shift as a huge win for native birds, and for the scientists and conservationists who have been campaigning against the public sale of these lethal poisons in Australia for almost a decade. 

An unacceptable risk to wildlife  

Rodenticides don’t just kill rats and mice. 

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, or SGARs, are a group of anticoagulant rodent poisons that work by stopping blood clotting or coagulating, causing rodents to bleed to death. SGARs are significantly more potent and much longer lasting than other rodent poisons, often killing in a single dose.

When rodents consume bait containing an active ingredient like brodifacoum, the poison can remain active in their bodies long after they have died, sometimes even for months. Since poisoned rodents can take days to die, they are often consumed by owls, raptors, snakes and small mammals as easy prey.

These poisons then accumulate in the body of the predator, leading to a slow and painful death from secondary poisoning.  

We know secondary poisoning is a serious threat to our native wildlife: scientists have found evidence of rodenticide poisoning in over 50 native Australian bird species, 30 non-target native mammals and 16 species of native reptile or amphibian.

While the US, Canada and the EU have restricted the general public sale of these lethal poisons, Australia has little regulation on their use. SGARs are the most common rat and mouse baits sold at hardware and grocery stores across the country – until now. 

Bunnings bows out

In more good news, Bunnings – which stocks the widest range of SGARs of any major Australian retailer – has announced it will remove these products from its shelves. 

Earlier this month, Bunnings committed to pulling all SGARs by 30 June 2026 – 9 months ahead of the APVMA deadline for a recommended full retail ban of the wildlife-killing poisons.  

That makes Bunnings the first brick-and-mortar retailer to remove SGARs from public sale – preventing huge quantities of lethal poison from entering bird food chains.  

BirdLife Australia has campaigned long and hard for this outcome, with almost 40,000 people signing our petition calling on Bunnings to stop selling SGARs.  

Next steps 

The stronger recommendations would see SGARs reclassified as a Restricted Chemical Products (RCPs), meaning any products containing the poisons would be removed from public sale. 

Under these strict new conditions, SGARs would be restricted to licenced operators only – with individuals required to have specific training or qualifications to legally purchase, handle and use these products.  

To make this restriction a reality, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) must accept and endorse this recommendation.  

To halt the devastating impact of SGARs on Australian wildlife, we need state and territory governments to enforce strict regulations limiting the use of these dangerous chemicals to licenced and trained professionals. If implemented correctly, this reform would mark one of the biggest conservation wins for Australian wildlife in recent years.

A year-long suspension – but with a catch 

Meanwhile, the APVMA has announced a year-long suspension on the registration of products containing SGARs.

As of 24 March 2026, the import and manufacturing of new SGAR products is now suspended for 12 months – a significant step towards a full ban.  

However, products already on shelves and in warehouses can still be sold, with a new set of instructions for their use. But we can’t allow the widespread use of these lethal poisons to continue under a different label.  

It’s the final step in removing SGARs from public sale, but this decision is now in the hands of the Minister and Assistant Minister of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – and our wildlife can’t wait.

Please use our email tool to urge decision makers to act now. 

Finally, a future without these wildlife-killing rat poisons is in sight. Together, we can protect our birds from secondary poisoning – now and into the future.