This is especially the case in states where recreational shooting of roos for personal consumption is illegal. The use of poisons for pest control usually evokes a great deal of comment, often of the deeply emotive, irrational kind. Some poisons are clearly not acceptable, while others are believed to offer a sensible solution to an otherwise difficult problem. The mechanisms by which poisons work are widely variable. Some act directly upon a feature of metabolism in the target species.
Metabolism refers to all of the processes by which the living organism maintains itself.
The most important part of metabolism is that of extracting enough energy from the surroundings in order to remain living. Metabolism depends upon the use of enzymes to enable the necessary chemical reactions to occur at body temperatures. Enzymes are substances that facilitate chemical reactions. Cyanide, for instance, disables the crucial enzyme cytochrome oxidase, which is essential for respiration to occur in cells. It acts very quickly in mammals, causing death in just a few minutes.