The Uk Rodenticide Stewardship Regime: A Model For Anticoagulant Risk Mitigation?

Abstract:
The UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime has been implemented to promote the nation-wide adoption of best practice in rodent pest management, in particular the use of the second-generation anticoagulants (SGARs) by professionals. The main objective of the regime is to minimize exposure of non-target wildlife to these substances and to reduce the frequency and concentration of residues in the environment. The regime involves voluntary work by individuals and stakeholder organisations operating in six main work areas: best practice, regulatory, training and certification, point of sale compliance, monitoring and communication. This paper describes the development and implementation of the regime, outlines anticipated outcomes and offers the regime as a possible model to offset current common regulatory action, which is increasingly to impose restrictions on who can use rodenticides and where they can be applied, based on hypothetical risk assessments, with unknown potential detrimental effects on human and animal health and hygiene.