Pesticides and Wildlife

There are many unintended targets of pesticide use. Millions of birds, mammals, fish, insects, and amphibians die from pesticide poisoning every year because they cannot read the warning signs. Furthermore, the EPA requires pesticide manufacturers to conduct animal experiments to determine a chemical’s toxicity to certain species so that they can list this information on their warning label, i.e. “toxic to mammals and fish,” or “highly toxic to bees.”

Countless animals have been intentionally poisoned in order to arrive at this conclusion for every pesticide on the market. The following links provide further information on the risks posed to wildlife by pesticide exposure:

• A New Alarm Sounds for Amphibians - Los Angeles Times
• Beyond Pesticides: Lawn Pesticide Facts and Figures
• Beyond Pesticides: Minnesota Honey Bee Battle
• Cornell Lab or Ornithology: Pesticides and Birds
• Environment and Human Health, Inc.
• Honey Bees Vanish, Leaving Keepers in Peril - New York Times
• Mystery Bee Disappearances Sweeping U.S. - National Geographic
• Mystery of the Dying Bee - Cosmos Magazine
• Organic Land Care Committee of Connecticut and Massachusetts: Ten Reasons to Ditch Your Lawn and Garden Chemicals
• Pesticide Poisoning - Wikipedia
• Pesticides and Wildlife: An Introduction to Testing, Registration and Risk Management - Purdue University
• Pesticide Toxicity to Bees - Wikipedia
• Project Wildlife
• Reptile, Amphibian and Pesticide (RAP) Database
• The Pesticide Price Tag