Title: Baiting with cruel pesticides found not to be effective for the control of canines and felines

Pesticide use has been widely adopted for the control of exotic canines and felines. In addition to the cruelty and pollution issues associated with the use of such baits, the high variability in research findings make it difficult to gauge the overall efficacy of this control method. This study found that many accepted baiting practices have little empirical support for their efficacy

The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of the efficacy of baiting for the feral cat, red fox and dingo. The outcome of interest was apparent predator survival. The dataset contained 121 effects from 34 studies, comprising 1,402 individuals tested.== When baits were distributed along tracks they increased the risk of predator death by 46 % relative to controls. However, when baits were distributed more broadly across areas the risk of predator death was comparable between baited and un-baited areas.

The research found no evidence that baiting was more effective at reducing canine relative to feline populations. It was additionally found that there is no evidence that Eradicat® achieved greater cat death than other baits. ==Higher bait densities achieved a greater risk of predator death for track baiting, but not area baiting. There was no evidence that repeat bait applications over short periods of time achieved a greater risk of predator death than single bait applications; this was consistent across both design types.

Similarly, the research found no evidence for an effect of bait matrix (fresh meat, dry processed bait, mixture) for either design type.

In sum, study shows that many accepted baiting practices have little empirical support and are continuing with them ispremature given the available sparse evidence. Further, rigorous research is of high priority in this field and will assist in clarifying the use of lethal baiting as a conservation tool due to animal welfare issues, off-target killing, and sustained environmental pollution.



Yong Zhi Foo, Daniel W.A. Noble, Patrick L. Taggart (2025). Effectiveness of toxic baiting for the control of canines and felines, Biological Conservation, vol. 302, np.

Extended summary available here.





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WeedsNews6880: re: Baiting with cruel pesticides found not to be effective for the control of canines and felinesWeedsNews6878: re: Baiting with cruel pesticides found not to be effective for the control of canines and felines
Article: WeedsNews6858 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:research alert, :WeedsNews:cats, :WeedsNews:dingoes, :WeedsNews:foxes, :WeedsNews:bait, :WeedsNews:baiting
Date: 30 April 2025; 2:07:42 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid