Poisoning mammalian pests can have unintended consequences for future control: Two case studies
Vertebrate pest control operations using toxic baits can have unintended consequences for nontarget species. some of which may themselves be pests. Learned avoidance behaviour (termed 'aversion') can be induced by sublethal dosing, which can arise when species with high and low susceptibilities to a toxin co- exist in the same area. In such cases the less-susceptible species (e.g., possums Trichosurus vulpecula) may be sublethally poisoned by control work targeting the more- susceptible species (e.g., rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus).