Actually Jen, by comparison to the most popular poisoned baits available here in Canada , not more cruel in my opinion. Warafin is a blood thinner (I know , I was on it for therapeutic reasons myself) . When used as a rat and mouse poison it dissolves the beasties from the inside. Other poisoned baits are inert masses once ingested and cause starvation by filling the gut and not evacuating . Slow starvation and internal melting strike me as just as bad as the method I mentioned above. As stated , I have had no cause to try it as my home is snake central. In the spring and early summer we watch the ground as we walk to avoid treading on the hundreds of grass snakes we have as impromptu pets,. Not a mouse or rat to be seen.