The California Coastal Zone Control Commission has approved a plan to eradicate an alien species of mice, whose growing population threatens rare seabirds found in the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
The plan is to drop 3,000 pounds of poisoned bait from helicopters on these rocky islands off the coast of San Francisco and serving as nesting grounds for some 300,000 birds (including the rare ash storm petrel). The plan still needs to be approved by the regional director of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, and even then it will take at least two years before the plan can be implemented.
Mice threatening birds first came to the islands from ships docking at them about a hundred years ago. In recent years, the number of mice has increased dramatically, which attracted rabbit owls that hunt them, which also catch storm petrels.
Environmental organizations have expressed varying views on this plan. “This is a human-made problem. And this must be done in order to stop further damage to the ecosystem, which is caused by mice, ”said Jerry McChesney, the reserve manager, at the meeting of the commission. However, researcher and ecologist Jane Goodall objected: “This poison will cause pain and suffering to many other sensitive animals.”
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