VICTORY! EPA REVERSES DECISION TO
ALLOW USE OF BIRD-KILLING PESTICIDE

Great news! Audubon and our partners in conservation - with tremendous help from thousands of Audubon supporters - has convinced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to dramatically change course and deny use of 4,500 pounds of granular carbofuran on rice fields in Louisiana. Granular carbofuran is one of the world's most potent bird-killing pesticides. One tiny granule can kill a songbird. Had the pesticide been applied to rice fields in Louisiana, hundreds of bird species would have been threatened, with wading birds and neotropical migrant shorebirds like the Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher at the highest risk. Rice farmers in Louisiana had requested authorization to apply more than two tons of this bird-killing pesticide to 10,000 acres of rice fields in southwest Louisiana. EPA initially intended to grant an "emergency use" application of the pesticide, but was forced by Audubon and our partners in conservation to open a five-day public comment period. During this very brief comment period, EPA received more than 5,000 public comments - including over 3,800 letters from Audubon supporters -- urging them to deny any further use of carbofuran. On Thursday, July 25, EPA responded by stopping use of the bird-killing pesticide! Many thanks to those who contacted EPA about this issue - your participation made the difference!

Click here to read the official statement released by the conservation organizations involved in the fight.