The Stewardship proposals, prepared by our industry sector, for the future use of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) were presented to the Oversight Group on 4 March 2014 in York.
As previously detailed (see our SGARs report of 21 February 2014) these SGAR stewardship proposals prepared by each of the four sector groups, under the co-ordination and guidance of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU), were to be presented to the government Oversight Group on 4 March.
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In a short statement following the meeting, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) said: “A Government ‘Oversight Group’ comprised of HSE, Defra, Public Health England and Natural England, met with CRRU on 4 March to consider their initial proposal. The group thanked CRRU for its work to date, but agreed that more work is needed to deliver stewardship and monitoring of effects. CRRU was asked to develop proposals further, and we will evaluate this work to ensure controls are robust and fit for purpose.” |
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Read the full stewardship proposal document as presented to the Oversight Group. It is believed CRRU has been given until September to develop and revert with these further proposals. After all the hard work undertaken by CRRU in such a relatively short time, this result is somewhat disappointing, but maybe not unsurprising. A likely influence on proceedings has been the petition launched on 22 January by the Barn Owl Trust (see Pest news) – which as of today’s date (6 March) has now attracted over 124,000 signatures. This called for stricter controls of SGARs. Although if you read the Barn Owl Trust demands, they are not a million miles away from those put forward by the professional pest control industry. The four sector groups The four groups are: 1) Agricultural industries, Although there may, unsurprisingly, be slight deviations in approach between these somewhat diverse sector groups, congratulations should go to CRRU who, under the chairmanship of Dr Alan Buckle, has brought these proposals together in such a relatively short space of time. For further background on the story so far read the report in the latest edition of Pest magazine. A detailed background to the rationale behind these stewardship proposals is also available. |
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