NGO Defends 'Crucial' Rat Baits

More News

The National Gamekeepers' Organisation is opposing a proposal by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ban the use of all Second Generation Anticoagulent Rodenticides (SGARs) in the wider UK countryside.

NGO Chairman, Lindsay Waddell told the HSE in a letter:

"Three quarters of gamekeepers in a recent NGO poll said they were reliant on these products to do their jobs. If we are denied the use of SGARs in the wider countryside, rat numbers will escalate, with really damaging consequences for the game industry, for wildlife and for farming."

The HSE is proposing, in a public consultation ending today, that the currently available SGARs (Bromadiolone and Difenacoum) should be banned for all use other than 'in and around buildings' (ie within 5 meters of them). Their recommendation was made in response to concerns in the European Union about the risks of secondary poisoning of wildlife. If unchanged it would become legally binding in the UK because the HSE is the 'competent authority' for such matters.

But the NGO says that the 'sound scientific evidence' necessary to justify such a move simply does not exist. Their spokesman said:

"Official Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) statistics show that less than 3% of poisoning incidents in the UK result from the correct use of SGARs. Indeed, there have been no incidents at all in the last three years. It is incorrect use that the HSE should be cracking down on, not legitimate use by gamekeepers, farmers and others.

"Over 96% of gamekeepers control rats. They do so to protect gamebirds and wildlife, to reduce thieving of feed put out for game and to prevent the spread of disease. Left uncontrolled, a single pair of rats can, in just three years, give rise to 253,762 offspring, so keeping their numbers in check is crucial - not only for us in the countryside but also to stop rats from spreading into towns and cities as well.

"There is very little evidence that SGARs are fatal to non-target wildlife at the levels normally encountered in the countryside. Nearly all of the predatory bird populations about which concerns are sometimes expressed are doing incredibly well in the UK, whilst foxes are increasing and badgers are frankly out of control. No-one has established a causal link between a declining UK wildlife population and the correct use of SGARs in the wider countryside."

The NGO says that instead of banning SGARs, the HSE should be making sure they are always used correctly.

"The evidence is that restricting use to gamekeepers and other trained individuals would address any concerns about secondary poisoning without depriving the countryside of a crucial wildlife management tool," said Mr Waddell.

The NGO has offered to meet with the HSE to discuss the matter further.

ENDS

 ,

Notes for Editors

Ground nesting birds are particularly vulnerable to predation by rats and effective control has always been part and parcel of gamekeeping.

The methods of rat control available to gamekeepers have been steadily eroded as time has gone on. Traps have been restricted and gassing is now all but banned. Shooting and hunting with terriers can at best only contribute a fraction of control.

Far fewer gamekeepers are employed nowadays to do a job once carried out by many thousands and these reductions in labour mean that trapping, shooting and the other non-chemical methods of rat control simply cannot cope. Gamekeepers, farmers and others need effective rodenticides.