Eco-warrior wins $50k to use owls as alternative to rat poisons on farms

A biological rodent control initiative founded by a Sunshine Coast local was crowned this year’s winner of The Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program, taking home a massive cash prize.

Owls Eat Rats founder, Alastair Duncan and Barn Owl Wraith.

Biological rodent control initiative Owls Eat Rats was crowned this year’s winner of The Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program, taking home a massive $50,000 cash prize.

Founded by Sunshine Coast local Alastair Duncan, Owls Eat Rats is a landscape-level initiative that supports barn owl populations as a natural, long-term solution for rodent control in agriculture.

Through the installation of nesting boxes, hunting roosts and ecological monitoring, Owls Eat Rats promotes “the return and ongoing presence of these native predators in farming landscapes as an alternative solution to rodenticide”.

Mr Duncan said many farmers were forced to use environmentally damaging poisons for rodent-control because they can’t access other options.

“The most widely used are anticoagulant rodenticides that are really harmful to the environment and not great for our food,” Mr Duncan said.

Australia’s rats have also developed a “genetic resistance” to many chemicals used by farmers, Mr Duncan said.

“They’ve got this genetic immunity to these really toxic poisons, so the only response is to double down on more poisons,” he said.

“So the efficacy is dropping but the concentration of these chemicals in our wildlife is going up.”

As an alternative, Mr Duncan’s initiative builds “beautiful, safe habitats” that draw owls to farmland.

“They [control rodent populations] the natural way and it’s a year-round protection,” he said.

Owls Eat Rats founder, Alastair Duncan

On Wednesday, June 25, Mr Duncan was one of nine founders of six start-ups who went head-to-head in a competitive pitch event held at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

After what Mr Duncan called “a privilege and fantastic opportunity to engage with like minded change-makers,” in the program, Owls Eat Rats was awarded the grant.

“Winning is mind-blowing and the money is huge, but the actual program itself was amazing,” Mr Duncan said.

“We came in with this beautiful idea and some great research, but we walked away with all these amazing contacts and a 12-month plan for how to bring this idea forward.

“Even if we didn’t win the prize, we would be so well placed for what comes next.”

Taronga CEO Cameron Kerr and Hatch Accelerator Program founders.

Taronga Conservation Society Australia chief executive officer, Cameron Kerr AO said he was “incredibly impressed” by the calibre of this year’s Hatch cohort, especially Owls Eat Rats.

“Each of the start-up founders offered thoughtful and practical solutions to some of the most urgent environmental challenges,” he said.

“We’re excited to see where [Owls Eat Rats] goes next, and we’re immensely grateful to our donors for backing early-stage ideas like this.

“With their continued support, we can help turn groundbreaking thinking into lasting environmental impact.”

Originally published as Eco-warrior wins $50k to use owls as alternative to rat poisons on farms