As part of our Waters of Exmoor campaign, we are calling on the government to regulate the use of two pesticides, Fipronil and Imidacloprid, commonly found in flea and tick treatments. These pesticides are not filtered out by wastewater treatment and Environment Agency data shows that they are present in many of England’s rivers in concentrations that exceed safety limits, posing a high risk to aquatic ecosystems.
We are urging the Government to take action to control the use of these chemicals and have written to Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for DEFRA, to express our concerns. We are asking for all pesticides that are already banned from use in agriculture because of their dangers, to also be banned from veterinary medicines.
After sending this letter, we were encouraged to learn that the Swiss Parliament has recently restricted the sale of treatments containing Fipronil and Imidacloprid to prescription-only, banning online and supermarket sales. The Swiss are also going to carry out Environmental Impact Assessments and if findings are unfavourable, these chemicals will be banned for veterinary use, as they are in agriculture.
