09 Sep NO CERTIFICATION, NO SALE OF RODENTICIDES FROM 1 OCTOBER
From 1 October farmers, gamekeepers, pest controllers and their employees buying
professional rodenticide packs for use outdoors will need to show either an approved
certificate of competence or document confirming membership of an approved farm
assurance scheme.
Without documentation from that date onwards, all sellers including those online are
prohibited from completing the sale under the conditions of the UK Rodenticide Stewardship
Regime.
During September, remaining stocks with pre-stewardship labels can still be sold. These are
being replaced by stewardship-authorised rodenticides, which carry legally-binding
requirements from HSE specifying user certification and compliance with product label
conditions of use.
The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) reports to HSE for implementation of
the stewardship regime. In addition to new conditions of sale, CRRU UK chairman Dr Alan
Buckle says the way rodenticides are used must change if we are to reduce the occurrence of
residues in wildlife.
“For many years it was thought best practice to set out bait points on farms, shooting
estates and around rural premises, then keep them permanently topped up with
rodenticide,” he says. “We now believe this practice is responsible, at least in part, for the
contamination of wildlife that we now see so widely in the UK.
“Of course, there is no risk if rodenticides are not used. So it must be a high priority in all
outdoor rural locations to make them as inhospitable as possible to rodents. This is done by
reducing harbourage and preventing access to foodstuffs. It is simply not acceptable to
provide ‘bed and board’ for rodents and solve the problem by repeatedly poisoning them
with rodenticides.”
CRRU UK has recently published a new guideline about safer and effective alternatives to
permanent baiting, when it may be justified and, if it is, how to do it most safely.