Massachusetts Joint Committee Hears Six Town Petitions to Ban Rat Poison

LEGISLATURE -- July 22, 2026, Six Massachusetts towns seek local authority to ban anticoagulant rodenticides as legislative committee hears testimony. Senate Chair Rebecca L. Rausch of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chaired a brief July 22 hearing on home rule petitions from Ayer, Boxborough, Groton, Lincoln, Nahant, and Sharon, with most committee members occupied by floor session. Christine Goulet, president of The People of Ayer Concerned About the Environment, cited five recorded bald eagle deaths in Massachusetts linked to rodenticide exposure, all females, the last two dying within days of each other in March 2026; a fourth witness, Lisa Nahan Demuel of Topsfield, added that a sixth death was confirmed through a public records request. Heather Packard of Mass Audubon called statewide prohibition the movement's primary goal, pointing to Rhode Island's June 18 ban and California's measurable drop in rodent complaints since its 2020 restrictions, and said at least three more Massachusetts communities are preparing fall petitions. No votes were taken.