Abu Dhabi’s pest control firms have been warned that during the use of chemicals to eradicate rodents, they must be explicitly marked as dangerous to humans.
The environment and waste authority of Abu Dhabi, Tadweer, said contractors were expected to stick to the highest international and local standards while operating in the city.
An animal welfare group operated by a local vet found recently that clear packets of bromadiolone were lying in and around community play areas.
The chemical is so dangerous that it can even kill dogs or cats if ingested.
Although it is not as deadly in humans, the chemical can still result in bruising, nosebleeds, headaches, and soreness in muscles.
An animal welfare volunteer, Dr Susan Aylott, stated, “Pest controllers are utilising unlabelled, homemade devices using poison for rats and mice around residential areas.”
“We have seen over 30 open canisters lying close to homes and near kids’ playgrounds. They are open to the elements, and only some of them were labelled as toxic poison.”
“It needs to be handled seriously, as people do not appear to understand the power of these chemicals.”
Dr Susan further said that some pest control firms had shown immense carelessness when laying down such chemicals for rodents.
She stated, “They can drop out of the traps and look like small red candy bags, which kids could pick up and even eat.”
Dr Aylott conducts programmes with volunteer veterans in the city to trap, neuter and release stray cats to lessen the numbers on the roads.
She said that pest controllers are not permitted in these controlled areas due to the risk of poisoning homeless cats and dogs.
The guidelines of Tadweer strive to provide a suitable cooperative framework for controlling public health via defining quality procedures and standards for pest control services.
Emma Button, who saves several cats every year in Abu Dhabi to take them to the UK, stated poisoning by unlicensed pet controllers was a constant issue.
She stated, “Tadweer has a set of procedures that state a pest controller must put down marked traps expressing who they belong to, but many traps we see do not have that labelling.”