General Motors Stops Drowning and Poisoning Animals

April 2001

In January 2001, PETA learned that General Motors (GM) administrators routinely ordered maintenance crews to trap and drown “nuisance” animals, such as raccoons and coyotes, at the Milford Proving Grounds plant in Michigan. We fired off a letter of protest to GM President and CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr., and in March, GM agreed to stop permitting employees to drown animals. Now, wild animals are humanely trapped and released. However, just days after receiving this news, PETA found out that GM was using Avitrol to poison birds at the Truck Products Center in Pontiac. Again, we sent a letter to the president, asking GM to discontinue the use of the Avitrol and rely on humane methods of control if necessary. In response, we received a letter from GM stating that on our advice, the company has directed its suppliers to stop the use of Avitrol to control birds immediately.