§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information his Department has on the incidence of poisoning of domestic pets by substances containing alphachloralose.
§ Mr. RyderIn the last five years the number of cases in which the death or illness of domestic pets has been attributed to alphachloralose are as follows:
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Incidents 1984 3 1985 6 1986 6
Incidents 1987 6 1988 4 In all of these cases the domestic pet involved has been either a cat or a dog.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what controls exist on the stockpiling and sale of substances containing alphachloralose;
(2) what criteria have to be met by individuals wishing to obtain permission for the purchase of alphachloralose compounds for pest control.
§ Mr. RyderThe Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 require that any substance containing alphachloralose stored or sold as a pesticide must first be approved by Ministers and supplied to users in approved containers and under approved labels.
All those selling, supplying or storing a pesticide must take all reasonable precautions to protect human health, animals and plants and must be competent in the duties they perform. In addition, employers must ensure that employees have been adequately trained.
Additional requirements apply under the poisons law, restricting sale of alphachloralose with some exceptions to retail pharmacies or sellers listed by the local authority. A record must be kept of sales from retail pharmacies and for most exempted sales and the purchaser must be a person to whom it may properly be sold. Storage requirements to prevent unauthorised access and contamination of foodstuffs apply to retail shops and associated premises.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department has any information relating to human fatalities resulting from alphachloralose poisoning from agricultural and related uses.
§ Mr. RyderThis question falls more to the Department of Employment than to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. However, the latest figures available to me show that there have been no human fatalities resulting from alphachloralose poisoning from agricultural or related use.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether alphachloralose has any agricultural uses.
§ Mr. RyderSome alphachloralose-containing products are approved for use as stupefying bait for the taking of feral pigeons and house sparrows for the purposes of preventing agricultural damage or preserving public health. This use is controlled by licensing under Section 16(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
Other alphachloralose-containing products are approved for use as rodenticides.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's guidance on the use of alphachloralose-based pesticides.
§ Mr. RyderIn the case of alphachloralose being used as stupefying bait, my Department issues detailed guidelines which are contained in the form LP46 which is distributed to those taking part in operations. There are also 707W conditions of use set out on the actual licence. Further guidance is available from MAFF's wildlife and storage biology discipline at the relevant MAFF regional office.
In the case of alphachloralose being used as a rodenticide, statutory conditions of use are imposed on alphachloralose pesticide products approved under the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986. The approved label and/or leaflet will include such information as field of use, maximum individual dose, operator and environmental protection measures and first aid advice.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions during each of the last three years he has initiated action following illegal use of alphachloralose-based pesticides.
§ Mr. RyderAll cases of illegal use of alphachloralosebased pesticides are investigated under the Ministry's wildlife incident investigation scheme. In the last three years the number of cases involving alphachloralose investigated under this scheme are as follows:
Incidents 1986 17 1987 22 1988 18