Overview
- In early July the Minnesota Attorney General sued two Mankato residents, alleging they placed EPA-regulated rodenticide blocks on or next to a public sidewalk to deter dogs and seeking $7,500 in civil penalties for each day of alleged violation.
- A court issued a temporary restraining order that requires the residents to remove the bait, bars them from placing more rodenticide, and authorizes a Minnesota Department of Agriculture inspector to examine the property.
- Photographs filed with the suit show bait blocks beside the sidewalk and signs on the property including one reading “no dog piss” and another suggesting passersby were being livestreamed.
- The complaint says at least one dog ingested a bait block and its owner induced vomiting to avert serious harm, and a Department of Agriculture investigator reported the residents refused to cooperate while noting bait inside the front-yard fence.
- Under EPA labeling, bait blocks cannot be placed outdoors above ground unless secured in tamper-resistant bait stations, and this civil case signals increased enforcement over misuse that poses risks to pets, children and the public.