We’ve just had an epic win for our native animals, such as owls, goannas and eagles. And after years contributing to the scientific evidence on the wildlife impact of rodent poisons, it’s a day scientists like myself feared would never come.

This week, the federal pesticides regulator finally announced a ban on the sale of a type of rodent poisons called second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs).

This means that some commonly used rat baits will be taken off the shelf at supermarkets and hardware shops. These baits can have a devastating effect on native animals, which receive lethal or crippling doses when they eat poisoned rats and mice.

Let’s look at what these rodent poisons (or rodenticides) are, why they are lethal for wildlife, and why they needed to banned.

What’s wrong with “second generation” rodent poisons?

Rat and mouse baits are an essential part of everyday life – people use them without thinking. Most baits are anticoagulants, which stop the blood coagulating or clotting and cause animals to bleed to death.

The first over-the-counter baits (developed in the 1940s) used chemicals such as warfarin and coumatetralyl, and are the first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs). Notably, these chemicals break down relatively quickly, both in the environment and the livers of animals who consume them. For example, warfarin only........

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