Wildlife officers mentioned a number of wild pigs in central California have been uncovered to pesticide bait that brought about their tissue to show blue earlier this 12 months.
In March, a wildlife trapper reported blue muscle or fats found in wild pigs within the Monterey County space, a few two-and-a-half-hour drive south of San Francisco, in response to the California Division of Fish and Wildlife.
The CDFW’s Wildlife Well being Lab later discovered a rodenticide bait, referred to as anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone, within the abdomen and liver of one of many pigs. The pigs have been uncovered to the blue-dyed diphacinon by both consuming the bait themselves or consuming different animals that ingested it, CDFW defined.
The California Division of Fish and Wildlife reported a number of observations of blue muscle or fats present in wild pigs uncovered to pesticide bait containing anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone in March 2025.
It is unclear what number of pigs have been uncovered, however CDFW Info Officer Krysten Kellum instructed USA TODAY there have been a number of and that the well being lab solely acquired one pattern. Kellum added that the division has not seen any extra studies of comparable publicity in wild pigs since then.
Between 2021 and 2021, CDFW documented rodenticide publicity in 19 out of 30 examined black bears in California, one out of 1 examined wild pig and nil out of two examined black-tailed deer, Kellum mentioned.
“We significantly respect studies coming from hunters relating to observations of blue tissues and different abnormalities in harvested wild recreation,” Kellum mentioned in a press release. “These studies may also help by alerting us to potential impacts to wild recreation and different non-target wildlife throughout the state.”
CDFW warns each pesticide customers and wildlife hunters
CDFW officers warned pesticide applicators to keep away from making use of rodenticides in areas utilized by wildlife that aren’t the goal of the poisoning. They’re additionally inspired to make use of bait stations and utility strategies that aren’t accessible to non-target species, equivalent to wild pigs.
The CDFW additionally urged hunters to think about the danger of rodenticide publicity within the wildlife they hunt, warning that blue discoloration might not all the time be current.
“Hunters ought to be conscious that the meat of recreation animals, equivalent to wild pig, deer, bear and geese, is perhaps contaminated if that recreation animal has been uncovered to rodenticides,” CDFW Pesticide Investigations Coordinator Dr. Ryan Bourbour mentioned in a information launch posted July 30.
Hunters are inspired to keep away from consuming animals with blue tissue and report any uncommon findings in harvested wildlife to the CDFW’s Wildlife Well being Lab at [email protected] or (916) 358 – 2790.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: California officers difficulty warning after blue-dyed meat present in pigs