The debate about marijuana legalization is ongoing, but one thing might be for sure. They’re killing off owls, according to a new report.
» RELATED: Here’s why monkeys have been sexually interacting with deer, study says
Researchers from University of California, Davis, and the California Academy of Sciences, recently conducted an experiment, published in the Avian Conservation and Ecology journal, to determine how wildlife inhabits urban or agricultural settings, including illegal marijuana sites.
To do so, they collected 10 dead spotted owls and 84 dead barred owls from areas in California including Humboldt County, where marijuana farms overlap with owls’ hunting grounds. Seven of the spotted owls and 34 of the barred owl tested positive for anticoagulant rodenticide, a rat poisoning farmers apparently use to keep the rodents away. The substance prevents mammals from recycling vitamin K, which can result in uncontrollable internal bleeding.
FILE PHOTO: Barred owl (BryanHanson/Morguefile license https://morguefile.com/license
BryanHanson/Morguefile
“Spotted owls are inclined to feed along forest edges. Because grow sites break apart these forest landscapes, they are likely source points for exposure,” lead
