I choose to use the title on TheOnion¹ («Conservationists² To Airdrop Rodent Poison On Mouse-Infested Island»), because that of AP is long and imperfect on the point: «A warming island’s mice are breeding out of control and eating seabirds. An extermination is planned».
> [Dr. Anton Wolfaardt, the Mouse-Free Marion project manager] said four to six helicopters will likely be used to drop up to 550 tons of rodenticide bait across the island. Pilots will be given exact flight lines and Wolfaardt’s team will be able to track the drop using GPS mapping. // The bait has been designed to not affect the soil or the island’s water sources. It shouldn’t harm the seabirds, who feed out at sea, and won’t have negative impacts for the environment, Wolfaardt said. Some animals will be affected at an individual level, but those species will recover
Leaves questions. Also in light of the anthologies worth:
> They were already a pest for researchers in the 1940s, so five domestic cats were introduced. By the 1970s, there were around 2,000 feral cats on the island, killing half a million seabirds per year. The cats were eliminated by introducing a feline flu virus and hunting down any survivors
Possibly even better title: "They introduced cats to fight mice threatening the avian population in a reserve, then they realized cats kill birds. Now...".
> [Dr. Anton Wolfaardt, the Mouse-Free Marion project manager] said four to six helicopters will likely be used to drop up to 550 tons of rodenticide bait across the island. Pilots will be given exact flight lines and Wolfaardt’s team will be able to track the drop using GPS mapping. // The bait has been designed to not affect the soil or the island’s water sources. It shouldn’t harm the seabirds, who feed out at sea, and won’t have negative impacts for the environment, Wolfaardt said. Some animals will be affected at an individual level, but those species will recover
Leaves questions. Also in light of the anthologies worth:
> They were already a pest for researchers in the 1940s, so five domestic cats were introduced. By the 1970s, there were around 2,000 feral cats on the island, killing half a million seabirds per year. The cats were eliminated by introducing a feline flu virus and hunting down any survivors
Possibly even better title: "They introduced cats to fight mice threatening the avian population in a reserve, then they realized cats kill birds. Now...".
¹ https://www.theonion.com/conservationists-to-airdrop-rodent-...
² «partnership between BirdLife South Africa and the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment»