Neighbors Protecting Raptors
Friends of Brookline Raptors is a group of Brookline residents who care about our wildlife and ecosystems. When we learned that the rat poisons (“SGARs”) in bait boxes all over Brookline are killing hawks, owls, eagles, and other predators that keep our ecosystems in balance, we had to do something about it.
Photo Credit: Amelia Szymkowicz, Friend’s of Halls Pond
History
We formed in August 2024 with support from Mass Audubon’s “Rescue Raptors” initiative. We immediately began collaborating with Town Meeting members to pass a Warrant Article at Town Meeting requesting authority from the State Legislature to restrict the use of these poisons on private property. Warrant Article 18 passed overwhelmingly, 232-7-4, with the unanimous support of the Select Board and Advisory Committee, and endorsements from the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance, Brookline Birders Club, MSPCA/Angell, Charles River Watershed Association, Sierra Club, and Mass Audubon
Current
We are now working to support that article’s passage at the State House, along with state-level legislation and regulation to restrict the use of SGARs. We also aspire to share information about the dangers of these poisons and about safer rodent control methods with our fellow Brookline residents and businesses. Many people don’t know the harm they’re doing or that there are safer alternatives, and would make different choices if they did.
Photo Credit: Amelia Szymkowicz, Friend’s of Halls Pond
Friends of Brookline Raptors 