Wild pigs with blue meat found in California, officials sound alarm

[Javaman]

https://www.kxan.com/news/wild-pigs-with-blue-meat-found-in-california-officials-sound-alarm/


(KTLA) – Wild pigs in California were recently found to have blue-colored muscle and fat, a sign that they may have ingested toxic rodenticide bait, according to the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Lab testing confirmed the presence of diphacinone, an anticoagulant rodenticide, in the stomach and liver of one pig showing blue tissue in Monterey County. The investigation was led by CDFW’s Wildlife Health Lab and the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory in Davis after a wildlife trapper reported the unusual coloring in March.

Rodenticides are designed to kill rodents but can also harm other animals, either by direct consumption or by eating animals that have been exposed.

These poisons often contain colored dyes to signal they are toxic. However, the blue color may not always be visible in contaminated meat.

- a bit more at link....

````````````````````````````

just another day in corporate poisoning America.

take another slug of victory gin, it'll make the pain go away.

[multigraincracker]

1. Another reason to avoid pork.

[Polybius]

17. What are the others?

[Attilatheblond]

26. Didn't Trump 1.0 leave it to the pork industry to do their own 'inspections'?

I'd say that is a pretty big red flag right there. Regulation by outside inspectors or self regulation by profit driven corporations, which do we we trust?

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Any toxicology studies on growth hormone and rodenticide?

That's a real cocktail.

[milestogo]

3. So... if you have a cat that hunts, he is at risk if he eats rodents.

[Botany]

7. No the rat or mouse who ingested the poison did not ingest enough to be toxic to the cat and besides cats unless

they are starving tend not to be scavengers too. It might sound cold but I wish the feral cats in my neighborhood
would get a dose of the anticoagulant to do them in because their predatory behaviors makes them ecological hammers.
Native birds, pollinators, insects, invertebrates, native critters, reptiles, and amphibians all are killed by feral cats and people’s
pet cats when they get out. Even when they are not hungry cats kill because it is in their nature. If you love your cat keep
him or her indoors. Feral cats live short and brutal lives.

As per the wild hogs they are a non native invasive species that need to be killed. However the rodenticide when used should
be in bait stations that keep the bait from being eaten by other animals then the targeted critters.

Right now my neighborhood has tremendous problem with rats and I have been using anticoagulants baits for about a
year now.

[milestogo]

8. I have no cats, only a well fed dog.

However I used to live in a neighborhood where there was someone who fed squirrels. She had a huge birdbath filled with birdseed on her front lawn. It attracted squirrels and rats. Apparently its not illegal. But its a fast way to make your neighbors hate you.

[KPN]

9. That's not exactly correct re: not being poisoned by predation of poisoned rodents. Having worked in natural resources

Last edited Fri Aug 8, 2025, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)

management, I know of two instances in which cougars were autopsied after being found dead near summer cottages and determined to have died from ingesting rats poisoned by rodenticides. -- I won't use them unless I know I can seal the entry points, so I've resorted to traps instead if and when we have a problem.

[misanthrope]

10. Not to mention raptors

Their body weight would make them vulnerable.

[Botany]

13. I haven't heard about that. Thanx. That is surprising because with cougars weighing 150 Lbs + the rats corpses must...

… have been plentiful or the toxicity of that rat bait must have been strong. I wonder if somebody dumped
rat bodies in one area?

My experience with anticoagulants rodenticides is that I almost never see a corpse. And once in
a great while I have seen a rat or mouse that is moving slowly which I suspect have ingested the
rodenticide.

Again thanx for your information.

[KPN]

15. Rodents can consume a huge amount of rodenticide in a short time and often do. It is not unusual to not find a corpse

particularly if there is open access to the rodenticide. Keep in mind that rodents can get through extremely small openings, smaller thanm what one might think given their body dimensions.

[womanofthehills]

19. I think it's cruel to poison any animal

Electronic rat and mouse traps are cheap on Amazon and kill instantly. Even putting a bucket of water out for mice to climb in and die is more humane than to poison animals.

I live out in the country on 40 acres with tons of mice and pack rats. I set and reset electronic traps in my car, shed and house. I’m into compassionate killing of any animal. I would never have POISON on my property.

Grok

The suffering a poisoned mouse experiences depends on the type of poison used:

- **Anticoagulant rodenticides** (e.g., warfarin, bromadiolone): These cause internal bleeding, leading to weakness, lethargy, and pain over **3 to 7 days**. The mouse may experience discomfort from organ damage or blood loss, potentially suffering for days before death.
- **Acute poisons** (e.g., bromethalin, zinc phosphide): Bromethalin causes neurological distress, including tremors, seizures, and paralysis, within **hours to 1-3 days**. Zinc phosphide leads to rapid stomach pain, nausea, and breathing difficulties, often killing within **hours**. Suffering is intense but shorter-lived.
- **Cholecalciferol** (vitamin D3): This induces organ failure and severe lethargy, with symptoms like dehydration and weakness causing discomfort over **2 to 4 days**.

All rodenticides cause some level of distress, ranging from prolonged moderate pain (anticoagulants) to acute severe symptoms (bromethalin, zinc phosphide). If humane pest control is a concern, non-lethal traps or deterrents may be worth exploring.” - Grok

Also - as far as country cats go. My cats are surrounded by so many birds and lizards - they are no longer that into them. I watched a bird land a few feet from my cat Lucky - and he just looked at the bird with part interest. I also found lucky just sitting a foot away from a rattlesnake looking at it. Of course, I scooped him up.

My friend had poison for mice in her closet- left the closet door open - her puppy ate it and died a painful death during the time they tried to save him. I really fucking hate pesticides. If she had an electronic traps, her sweet puppy would be alive.

[Botany]

27. I use a Bromethalin rat bait. I glue it into the middle of 18" 3 to 4" diameter pvc pipe. This takes advantage of the

…. rat’s nature of liking to go into tunnels and stuff and keeps the bait away from other animals. This time last
year my neighborhood was overwhelmed with rats to the point of seeing them out and around during the day
almost everyplace. I am not seeing them out anymore but I know that we still have a substantial population of them
because the bait I put out still gets eaten. One advantage of bait is that it can kill several rats with one block and
if you are lucky you have a pregnant or a lactating eat the bait. I am afraid I am now I’m killing them @ the replacement
level. If you see a Norway rat you can be pretty well be assured that it has a den with in 250 to 350 from where
you saw it. You are not going to catch and rehabilitate them, they carry diseases, and they disrupt the native eco-
systems too.

[NickB79]

24. If you let your cat out to hunt, you're an idiot

And "idiot" was not the first word that came to mind.

Beyond the risks of cars, predators and disease, outdoor cats kill over a BILLION native songbirds annually.

Domestic cats should not be outdoors unsupervised. The only area that gets an exemption would be a farm.

[yardwork]

4. Props for the 1984 reference.

[Keepthesoulalive]

5. Many farmers use rat poison to keep rodent populations in check

Wild pigs and farmed pork don’t have a lot in common other than the pig gene. The animals that prey on mice are killed by the poison so we use more poison and then you have a bigger problem as it spreads through the environment.

[womanofthehills]

20. Those are the same farmers that probably use tons of chemicals on their crops

Friends of mine who do regenerative farming would never bring pesticides on their land.

[Keepthesoulalive]

21. Judging by the number of farmers who voted for

They are not deep or forward thinkers. If you realize mother nature has a good idea of how to keep things in balance and sometimes it’s uncomfortable, you step back and try to help instead of control.

[Swede]

6. Dammit. My victory gin jug is empty.

Oh well...

[Chilopsis]

11. Cause & Effect

A number of years ago, enterprenuers cleared acreage in our rural desert community and planted jojoba. Investors were going to get rich harvesting the nuts for their valuable oil.

The local rodent population had a field day, to the chagrin of the enterprenuers. They set out massive quantities of poison bait to save their crop.

Cause and effect: Drawn by poisoned rodents in their death throes, raptors native to the area swooped in for an easy meal with catastrophic consequences for hawks, owls, and other predatory birds.

The "get rich quick" jojoba venture failed which was a fortunate turn of events for the affected wildlife population.

[Erda]

12. How cruel these policies are

and the people who have created and implemented them.

Sickening.

[IbogaProject]

14. Yet another reason to avoid eating flesh

Meat isn't environmentally sustainable and then there is all the contamination issues.

That said wild boars are an invasive species and I am actually ok with hunting if done in the context of culling over sized populations of animals without natural predators.

[womanofthehills]

22. I will only eat grass fed/grass finished beef.

Luckily I live in ranch land in the middle of NM. Cows out here have clean air and eat natural grasses.

Shit, if I don’t keep my gate closed, I might have cows come roaming around my house. In the past, 5 cows on my property for half an hour - amazing amount of fertilizer.

It’s more expensive than ever but I will only but organically fed chicken.
I have my own chickens for clean, healthy eggs.

[Initech]

16. Another reason why we need literally anybody else in charge of public health but the brain worm guy.

[womanofthehills]

25. Actually- like him or hate him - he is getting toxic ingredients out of foods

So many Americans are so ignorant when it comes to food. They don’t even realize that food is connected to their health.

These companies are taking out toxic dyes - hope other chemicals are next.


Grok:
- General Mills: Committed to removing artificial dyes from all U.S. cereals and K-12 school foods by summer 2026, with a full phase-out across its U.S. portfolio by the end of 2027. About 85% of its retail products are already dye-free.
- Kraft Heinz: Plans to eliminate artificial dyes from its U.S. products by the end of 2027, focusing on brands like Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, and Jell-O. The company previously removed artificial colors from its macaroni and cheese in 2016 and notes that 90% of its U.S. products are already free of FD&C colors.
- Nestlé USA: Pledged to remove synthetic dyes from its U.S. food and beverage products by mid-2026. Approximately 90% of its U.S. portfolio is already dye-free, though products like Nesquik Banana Strawberry milk still use Red No. 3.
- Conagra Brands: Will phase out synthetic dyes in frozen foods by the end of 2025 and across all products by 2027, including brands like Duncan Hines.
- PepsiCo: Transitioning to remove artificial dyes, with a commitment to eliminate them from products like Lay’s and Tostitos by the end of 2025. Roughly 2% of its products currently use artificial dyes.
- Tyson Foods: Working to remove synthetic dyes from its products, with none currently used in its school nutrition programs.
- Danone North America: Actively removing petroleum-based dyes, with products like Yo Crunch yogurt (containing M&Ms) noted as still using multiple synthetic dyes, but reformulation is underway.
- TreeHouse Foods: Has been reformulating for some time and claims to already meet future standards in some cases, applauding the FDA’s push for a national standard.
- J.M. Smucker: Committed to phasing out artificial colors from its jams and other products by the end of 2027.
- Hershey: Announced plans to ditch synthetic colors, though specific timelines are less clear.
- McCormick: Part of the group of companies moving away from synthetic dyes, with plans to reformulate products.
- Sam’s Club: Committed to removing artificial dyes, though details on timelines are limited.
- In-N-Out: Confirmed in May 2025 that it is removing artificial coloring from some menu items.
- Blue Bell: Removing all artificial dyes from its ice cream products, as highlighted by a U.S. Senator from Kansas.
- Coca-Cola: Plans to offer an option without high-fructose corn syrup, indicating a broader move to reduce certain additives, though specific dye-related commitments are less detailed.
- Dairy Industry (Select Companies): Dozens of ice cream and frozen dairy dessert manufacturers announced in July 2025 that they would remove artificial dyes by 2028.
- Stella’s Homemade Ice Cream: A smaller processor in South Carolina phasing out synthetic dyes, with 150 of its 200 ice cream flavors already dye-free.”

[Midnight Writer]

18. RFK, Jr. says they are OK to eat if you run them over with your car first.

[LeftInTX]

23. The wild pigs probably ate the bait themselves!

https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/poison-detection-in-wild-pigs-brings-attention-to-pesticide-exposure-in-hunter-harvested-wildlife

Bait could have been unsecured or someone may have scattered bait.

I think wild hogs can break some residential and commercial bait boxes.