Save Easton Raptors! 11/4/2024

Save Easton Raptors is a municipal group of MA Audubon's Rescue Raptors and was started in our town after we noticed a beautiful Great-horned Owl family living in our town center of North Easton in May of this year. Unfortunately, at around the same time, we discovered "black boxes" all around our town that likely contain second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) that are used as bait to kill rodents. They work by preventing blood from clotting, but, unfortunately, they also kill anything that then eats the rodents. Since it takes a few days for the rodent to die, and they are weakened, they become easier and more likely for an owl (or hawk, eagle, or pet for that matter) to capture. So now, this beautiful family has to contend with avoiding a poisoned food source. So many of our beautiful raptors have already been killed by these SGARs in surrounding Massachusetts towns because we are poisoning their food source. MA Audubon has a volunteer "Rescue Raptors" effort that we joined, and we are working with different organizations here in North Easton to make everyone aware of these SGARs and their consequences for our local raptors such as this Great-horned Owl family. Langwater Farm, The Trustees of Estates, our library, Eyes on Owls, the Natural Resources Trust, and our own Conservation Commission support these efforts. Great Horned Owls eat 1200 rodents a year at a minimum, and they can live up to 40 years in the wild so, essentially, the loss of one of these raptors means the survival of 48,000 rodents. Great-horned Owls are much more effective at controlling rodent infestations than SGARs, and they are certainly more humane. Education will be key for Easton as most people are just not aware of the danger and cruelty of using SGARs, and they do not recognize what those "black boxes" are around our Easton buildings. Our hope is that we will cease to use these poisons and move towards trying to attract more of these beautiful raptors to our town. The initial charter of Save Easton Raptors is to educate people about the use of SGARs, and to petition the Select Board of Easton to adopt a policy preventing their use on Town-owned properties.