Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Raven populations that depredate livestock, damage agricultural crops, and injure endangered and threatened species, can be managed with egg baits containing the avicide DRC-1339 (3-chloro-p-toluidine). Estimating baiting efficacy is difficult, as DRC-1339 is a slow-acting toxicant. Efficacy estimation is further complicated by the feeding behavior of ravens at bait sites. To evaluate the efficacy of an egg baiting operation, we developed a computer simulation to predict bait consumption by ravens, incorporating a DRC-1339 degradation module to predict DRC-1339 bait concentration at the time of consumption and an effects module to predict the mortality associated with the resulting DRC-1339 dose. Details of the simulation will be presented in the context of predicting baiting efficacy using egg baits in different climatic environments. These preliminary results provide the basis for designing field studies that can be used to improve and validate the model.