Wildlife officials urge caution after rodenticide found in wild pigs in Monterey County

Wildlife officials in California are urging hunters and pesticide applicators to exercise greater caution after wild pigs in Monterey County were found to have ingested poison that is used to kill rodents, raising new concerns about contamination in game meat and risks to non-target animals.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife Health Laboratory, along with the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory in Davis, confirmed in an advisory released Wednesday that wild pigs had been exposed to the anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone, which kills rodents by causing internal bleeding. The discovery came after a wildlife trapper reported observing blue-colored muscle or fat in multiple pigs, which the CDFW says is an indicator that the animals may have consumed rodenticide bait.