Bad news for the Black-Footed Ferrets.
Nancy,
adoptive mom to a BFF
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Dear Nancy,
Right now, America's prairie dogs are being poisoned and suffering
horrible deaths. Slowly bleeding to death -- even through their skin --
their agony can last weeks.
The cause of their deaths: the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
shocking approval of the use of two incredibly toxic poisons known to
cause wildlife deaths well beyond their intended use -- Rozol and the
morbidly named Kaput-D.
Defenders of Wildlife is going to court to protect prairie dogs and
other prairie wildlife from these deadly poisons, but we need your
support to win. Please donate today to support our emergency legal
efforts.
<https://secure.defenders.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&df_id=3160&3160.donation=form1>
Prairie dogs are an essential part of healthy prairie ecosystems; they
are a food source for predators, maintain short vegetation, and dig
burrows that many other animals also use. But these keystone mammals
already have been eradicated from more than 95% of their historic
range across the Great Plains!
Scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have questioned the
EPA's approval of Rozol and Kaput-D, citing serious concerns about
the effects of these poisons on prairie ecosystems -- and especially
on highly endangered black footed ferrets and imperiled swift fox,
burrowing owls, bald and golden eagles and other wildlife linked to
prairie dogs in the food chain.
Yet these poisons are now being used to kill prairie dogs, threatening
many of the imperiled prairie bids and mammals that we've fought so
hard to rescue from extinction.
Last week, we filed a lawsuit with our local allies at Audubon of
Kansas challenging the use of Rozol and Kaput-D. We face a tough fight
ahead as we take on the lawyers at the EPA and the well-funded legal
teams of the makers of these poisons.
Help us win in court with your tax-deductible contribution to save
prairie dogs and other endangered wildlife from an agonizing death.
<https://secure.defenders.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&df_id=3160&3160.donation=form1>
Rozol and Kaput-D can take weeks to kill a poisoned prairie dog, making
them easy prey as they become disoriented and slowly lose bodily
function.
And, because these poisons can linger in a prairie dog's carcass for
weeks, animals like black-footed ferrets and birds that feed on dead or
dying prairie dogs or live in contaminated burrows (as burrowing owls
often do) can also inadvertently become poisoned and share the same
grim fate.
The effects of Rozol and Kaput-D are widespread and dangerous. Will you
help us fight in court to end the misuse of these deadly poisons and
protect America's prairie wildlife?
For the Wild Ones,
Jonathan Proctor
Rocky Mountain Region Representative
Defenders of Wildlife
P.S. Your help can make a big difference. Thanks to the actions and
donations of caring people like you, Defenders has been able to help
the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana and private landowners in Kansas
save two of important prairie dog colonies in these states and help
establish two important new footholds on America's plains for
endangered black-footed ferrets.
Please make a secure donation online now or call 1-800-385-9712 to help
us win our latest fight for America's wildlife!
Founded in 1947, Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit
membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild
animals and plants in their natural communities.
Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at:
1130 Seventeenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-385-9712
[Posted in FML 6479]
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