Fenthion (Baytex) kills birds. In fact, that's what it was once used for.
It takes just a tiny drop of fenthion to kill a bird. Still, this lethal pesticide is being used to control adult mosquito populations in Florida, even though equally effective alternatives are legal and available. Scientists estimate that in total, pesticides kill more than 60 million birds each year in the U.S.
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Fenthion is currently being sprayed on some of the most important migratory bird habitat in the US. Birds that travel as far north as Michigan are at risk as they pass through this crucial corridor. Birds known to have been recently killed in Florida include: Piping Plover (endangered), Black Skimmer, Dunlin, Western Sandpiper, Sandwich Tern, and Snowy Plover.
Stopping the use of fenthion will not affect Florida resident's ability to control mosquitoes. There are many alternative chemicals which are less harmful to birds and preferred by all other states.
Fenthion is currently legal, but its use is being reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Please tell EPA Administrator, Christine Todd Whitman, that the registration of fenthion should be canceled immediately. With less harmful alternatives available it is time to halt the use of fenthion, and prevent irreparable harm to migratory birds, and to Florida’s unique and highly diverse ecosystems.
Sign now and help save our nation's birds!
This petition was submitted by American Bird Conservancy
It will be sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bayer, Jeb Bush, Florida Mosquito Control District, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and County Commissioners.
I write to protest the continued use of the pesticide fenthion (OPP-34145A).
Fenthion is sprayed by helicopter on hundreds of thousands of acres in Florida
each year to control mosquitoes, including residential neighborhoods and
wildlife areas where it threatens migratory birds that nest throughout the
eastern U.S. and Canada. With less harmful alternatives available it is time
to halt the use of fenthion, and prevent irreparable harm to migratory
birds, and to Florida’s unique and highly diverse ecosystems.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
This petition was submitted by American Bird Conservancy
