2026-03-11
After a four year review into rodenticides, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) certified yesterday that it is in the public interest for chemical products containing any second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) to be declared restricted chemical products.
Public pressure from the Greens, Birdlife, and animal and environmental experts alike led the APVMA to backflip on its highly unpopular December draft decision that only sought to make changes to labelling and instruction requirements.
SGARs will now only be able to be purchased by those accredited for its usage. Additionally, from the 24th of March 2026, a 12 month suspension will be put in place on the registration of any products that contain SGARs.
This is a big step in the right direction towards a full ban on SGARs.
Lines attributable to Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Greens and spokesperson for Animal Welfare:
“No longer will our birds and mammals, reptiles and companion animals be sentenced to a slow and agonising death from internal bleeding by SGARs.
“Finally, the APVMA has confirmed what the world has known for decades - that the risks of SGARs are unable to be mitigated and their impacts are profoundly cruel.
“This is the first time the APVMA has certified a chemical as a restricted chemical product in over a decade. This major win for animals comes off the back of the hard work of Birdlife, conservation groups, and the enormous public pressure to ban SGARs.
“Labor must now sign off on this recommendation immediately and bring us in line with the other countries who ended this brutality years ago.