Independent Review Backs Continued Rodenticide Stewardship With Stronger Monitoring

The UK Rodenticide Stewardship Government Oversight Group, chaired by the Health and Safety Executive, concludes the industry led stewardship for professional anticoagulant rodenticide use should continue but be strengthened. The review credits the regime with tighter supply controls, better trained users and routine monitoring, while noting it has not yet produced a measurable fall in second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls compared with the pre stewardship baseline.

An independent review carried out by the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Government Oversight Group, chaired by the Health and Safety Executive, has recommended that the current stewardship regime for professional rodenticide use should be retained but reinforced. The group published findings that the regime has provided important safeguards for human health, animal health and the environment, and called for measures to strengthen monitoring and support for users.

The review finds the stewardship approach has improved governance of the supply chain by restricting professional products to approved outlets and trained users working within an integrated pest management approach. It also reports a more competent workforce and the establishment of consistent environmental monitoring that makes it possible to measure and assess impacts. However, the review notes that total second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls have not yet fallen measurably against the pre stewardship baseline, so an important performance measure has not been met. The group emphasised that this does not mean risks have gone unaddressed and concluded that without the existing restrictions and improvements the risks would likely be greater.

GOG recommends that stewardship and the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use UK should continue but with stronger arrangements. Proposed actions include extending environmental monitoring, funding fresh residue analysis, developing greater insight into priority user groups and improving how information is given to users. HSE has said it will consider the Oversight Group report and its recommendations when it carries out routine renewal assessments of anticoagulant rodenticide products and may use the findings to strengthen the scheme, for example through better monitoring and more support for those who use these products. The review sits alongside the background that these substances were judged in 2017 by the European Commission to be essential for preventing serious danger to health and the environment, and that the CRRU UK stewardship regime was introduced in 2016 with an agreed review after five years.

HSE Corporate News