Your above article and another article in Conversation (Jan 2025) tell us that “.. research shows predator baiting has the potential to harm more native species than previously realised.” I suppose we know that in Australia, chemicals are highly regulated. Hundreds of chemicals are legally authorised to control pests or introduced flora and fauna. In my experience, citizens and regulatory authorities know very little because these chemicals were registered a long time ago, when Adam was a boy.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is responsible for registering these chemicals; therefore, it should play a role in determining the protection of native flora and fauna. Unfortunately, it sees its sole responsibility as placing statements or instructions on the product label. Once the desired text is on the label, the APVMA’s responsibilities end. Citing the Control of Use legislation, the onus is now on the States and Territories to ensure products do not harm humans, animals, and the environment, including native ecosystems.

On the other hand, we routinely use these legal chemicals in our backyards and municipal bodies in our playgrounds because we have blind trust in the regulatory system administered by the APVMA. Therefore, we do not have major or even minor concerns of losing native flora and/or fauna. In general, we have limited awareness that native flora and fauna are analogous to the "canary in the coal mine" as they serve as early warning indicators of environmental health and ecosystem disruption, ultimately impacting human health.

I reiterate that native flora and fauna are like a canary in the coal mine because their health and presence in an ecosystem can provide valuable insights into the overall health of our ecosystem and the potential risks to human health.

Countries that are acutely aware of their environment, the use of chemicals started to be curtailed in the 1990s due to concerns about their impact on ecosystems, not just the development of resistance in pests and weeds.

Due to a lack of awareness, we as citizens are not there yet or feel the need to question or even ask APVMA to curtail the use of pesticides because of their impact on our native ecosystems.