Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · Australia · 1918–2019
Rats wiped out five endemic birds on Lord Howe Island; 2019 eradication succeeded
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Rats are reported to have wiped out five endemic birds on Lord Howe Island in 1918, and the Lord Howe Island Board reports that a 2019 eradication effort succeeded. The sources reviewed do not give the cost or funding of the work.
What?
Rats had wiped out five endemic birds on Lord Howe Island by 1918; a 2019 eradication effort is reported as successful. Lord Howe Island Board
Where?
Lord Howe Island, Australia. Lord Howe Island Board
When?
Birds lost by 1918; eradication in 2019; report dated 2025. Lord Howe Island Board
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
- Five endemic birds on Lord Howe Island — wiped out by rats by 1918 Lord Howe Island Board
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Rodent eradication, as described in the Board's final report. Lord Howe Island Board
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Lord Howe Island Board's 2025 final report attributes the loss of five endemic birds in 1918 to rats.
The same report says the 2019 eradication effort was successful.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Cost, funding, the number of rats and the method used are not stated in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not describe effects on other species since the eradication.
- None on record Who gained from the work, and any costs to residents, are not stated.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Rodent eradication: final report 2025Lord Howe Island Board · 2025