To close out our most successful year yet, we are thrilled to share another monumental victory for animals! The Malibu City Council has unanimously voted to support a strong Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA) to ban all pesticides, including rodenticide, herbicide, and insecticide poisons.

We joined representatives from environmental organizations and dozens of passionate community members to speak up for Malibu’s wild animals. Our own Lisa Levinson urged the city council to ban all pesticides to stop this second “Silent Spring,” before witnessing the historic vote!

Previously, Malibu banned rodenticides on city property only. Now, all pesticides are banned throughout Malibu, which includes both commercial and residential properties.

To understand the vast scale of this victory, fifteen pest control companies in Malibu disperse 1.5 million packages of rodenticide poisons per month to their customers. Speaker and former pest control operator Wilmar Mejia told the council that he placed 12 boxes with 24 packs of poison to each of his 350 customers per month.

By California state law, no one can regulate pesticides. However, Malibu follows the lead of Los Angeles and several Coastal Zone cities to ban these deadly chemicals. We’re working with Poison Free Malibu to reverse the existing law and to support statewide legislation for a rodenticide ban in 2020.

If you’re a California resident, and you have not done so already, please send our letter imploring Governor Newsom to issue an immediate statewide moratorium on rodenticide poisons.