Monday, 30 March 2026
We welcome the APVMA’s recent decision to suspend product registrations for 12 months and classify all SGARs as Restricted Chemical Products. However, for the newly proposed measures to stop the devastating impact on Australian wildlife, governments need to strictly regulate who can obtain and utilise these products under licencing permits.
Our comprehensive submission outlines that secondary poisoning—where predators and scavengers ingest poisoned rodents—is an unavoidable consequence of SGAR use, regardless of bait stations or label instructions. With over 90 native species already documented as exposed, and population models showing that even small increases in mortality can drive species towards extinction, we are demanding structural, not cosmetic, changes.
We are calling for the urgent removal of SGARs from retail shelves, a strictly controlled professional-use framework, and the establishment of independent national monitoring systems to track both poison deployment and wildlife exposure.
Read our full submission here to understand the science behind the crisis and our recommendations for a safer, more effective path forward.
How to cite this document:
Parsons, H., Zdenek, C.N. (2026). BirdLife Australia submission to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) on anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs): Response to the Special Gazette (16 December 2025) and Gazette No. 5 (10 March 2026).
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