New rules for bait rodenticides

llamedos

New Member
With under 24 hours to go, I thought this may be helpful.


NO CERTIFICATION, NO SALE OF RODENTICIDES FROM 1 OCTOBER

From 1 October farmers, gamekeepers, pest controllers and their employees buying
professional rodenticide packs for use outdoors will need to show either an approved
certificate of competence or document confirming membership of an approved farm
assurance scheme.

Without documentation from that date onwards, all sellers including those online are
prohibited from completing the sale under the conditions of the UK Rodenticide Stewardship
Regime.

During September, remaining stocks with pre-stewardship labels can still be sold. These are
being replaced by stewardship-authorised rodenticides, which carry legally-binding
requirements from HSE specifying user certification and compliance with product label
conditions of use.

The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) reports to HSE for implementation of
the stewardship regime. In addition to new conditions of sale, CRRU UK chairman Dr Alan
Buckle says the way rodenticides are used must change if we are to reduce the occurrence of
residues in wildlife.

“For many years it was thought best practice to set out bait points on farms, shooting
estates and around rural premises, then keep them permanently topped up with
rodenticide,” he says. “We now believe this practice is responsible, at least in part, for the
contamination of wildlife that we now see so widely in the UK.

“Of course, there is no risk if rodenticides are not used. So it must be a high priority in all
outdoor rural locations to make them as inhospitable as possible to rodents. This is done by
reducing harbourage and preventing access to foodstuffs. It is simply not acceptable to
provide ‘bed and board’ for rodents and solve the problem by repeatedly poisoning them
with rodenticides.”





 

Attachments

  • CRRU_UK Code of Best Practice.pdf
    978.1 KB · Views: 5

chickens and wheat

Member
Mixed Farmer
online training http://rodentcontrolonfarms.co.uk/login/index.php £60


Options for farmers:

In readiness, farmers have four options, all designed to ensure biosecurity and food safety, to be ready for using "stewardship label" rodenticides on their premises:

1. Possession of a certificate from an approved training programme and awarding organisation confirming professional competence.

2. Employment of a professional pest control contractor, which employs technicians themselves in possession of such approved certificates.

3. Membership of a UK farm assurance scheme which has among its standards a structured, documented and audited programme of rodenticide pest management. Click HERE for an up-to-date list of acceptable farm assurance schemes.

Please note that this is an interim measure, which will cease after December 2017 - unless the farm assurance schemes in question bring their standards fully in line with the CRRU Code of Best Practice.

The current schemes are:

  • Red Tractor Farm Assurance - Beef and Lamb, Dairy, Crops, Fresh Produce, Pigs, Poultry
  • Quality Meat Scotland – Cattle & Sheep, Pigs
  • Farm Assured Welsh Livestock - Beef & Lamb
  • Scottish Quality Crops
  • Northern lreland Farm Quality Assurance Scheme - Beef and Lamb, Cereals
  • British Egg Industry Council: Code of Practice for Lion Eggs
  • Duck Assurance Scheme (Breeder replacement, Breeder layers, Hatcheries, Table birds, Free-range table birds)
  • Agricultural Industries Confederation (Compound feeds, Combinable crops and Animal feeds)
4. The purchase and use of amateur rodenticide products (which refers to pack sizes of up to 1.5kg.)
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
online training http://rodentcontrolonfarms.co.uk/login/index.php £60


Options for farmers:

In readiness, farmers have four options, all designed to ensure biosecurity and food safety, to be ready for using "stewardship label" rodenticides on their premises:

1. Possession of a certificate from an approved training programme and awarding organisation confirming professional competence.

2. Employment of a professional pest control contractor, which employs technicians themselves in possession of such approved certificates.

3. Membership of a UK farm assurance scheme which has among its standards a structured, documented and audited programme of rodenticide pest management. Click HERE for an up-to-date list of acceptable farm assurance schemes.

Please note that this is an interim measure, which will cease after December 2017 - unless the farm assurance schemes in question bring their standards fully in line with the CRRU Code of Best Practice.

The current schemes are:

  • Red Tractor Farm Assurance - Beef and Lamb, Dairy, Crops, Fresh Produce, Pigs, Poultry
  • Quality Meat Scotland – Cattle & Sheep, Pigs
  • Farm Assured Welsh Livestock - Beef & Lamb
  • Scottish Quality Crops
  • Northern lreland Farm Quality Assurance Scheme - Beef and Lamb, Cereals
  • British Egg Industry Council: Code of Practice for Lion Eggs
  • Duck Assurance Scheme (Breeder replacement, Breeder layers, Hatcheries, Table birds, Free-range table birds)
  • Agricultural Industries Confederation (Compound feeds, Combinable crops and Animal feeds)
4. The purchase and use of amateur rodenticide products (which refers to pack sizes of up to 1.5kg.)


Just bought a fairly big tub, which is 1.5kg. Buying small packs may be the simplest way to go.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Yet another load of rubbish. The 'local' training college rang today to see if I wanted to go on the ratting course. I've got funding for it. The course is run at a place called Tonypandy, which is near enough 100 miles away from me, one way. How practical is that? :woot: Needless to say, I declined.

Have booked to do the three day pesticide course, which will be three days of my life I'll never get back. This to spray a few acres of docks every few years! I'll need another day's course to use a knapsack sprayer apparently, even though they advertise such a thing on TV with a man nonchalantly waving his weedkiller around while in his shorts. But he isn't a farmer with 45 years experience spraying [used to do more than currently] so he must be competent without doing any course. :rolleyes:
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
How much do you bet that a rodent certificate and detailed plan will become compulsory for farm assurance certification by the middle of next year?

Perhaps it's a good thing, I don't know. The competent person will already follow best practice and only place bait when there is a known problem and bait sensibly and safely. Unfortunately there is always the muppet that won't. I honestly don't believe that some muppets will alter their ways after being on a course. They will however be fully certified muppets, so that's alright then.
 

spin cycle

Member
Location
north norfolk
How much do you bet that a rodent certificate and detailed plan will become compulsory for farm assurance certification by the middle of next year?

Perhaps it's a good thing, I don't know. The competent person will already follow best practice and only place bait when there is a known problem and bait sensibly and safely. Unfortunately there is always the muppet that won't. I honestly don't believe that some muppets will alter their ways after being on a course. They will however be fully certified muppets, so that's alright then.

thats the danger of all FA 'certs'....once you've got them you can do what you like....as long as you write it up right
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Happy enough to do an online course. When I kept hens, Stonegate wanted me to go to Wolverhamton (160 miles) to do a course. No thanks.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
The problem is that bird strips and other environmental scheme options that leave rough ground provide an excellent habitat for rats. Throw in some pheasant feeders and maize plantations for AD plants and you have rat paradise. Using lots of bait in such situations will end with rats becoming resistant to bait, especially as the maize provides lots of vitamin K to help them overcome anticoagulant poisons.

Some farmyards will become overrun with rats when sales of bait are restricted.

None of this has been thought through.
 
I stumbled upon this thread and got to wondering how long it takes for rat poison to kill a rat and how much does the rat suffer before death. It struck me that perhaps death from being shot is a quicker and kinder than poisoning of rats.

It also occurred to me that regular ratting sessions with a decent air rifle could be a therapeutic distraction from the day to day stresses of farming.
 

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