§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
In view of the recently reported effects of slug pellet chemicals on the United Kingdom frog population, whether they regard as satisfactory the amount of research (indicated by the Lord Whitty on 12 November 2001 (WA 59-60) which they are conducting; and [HL2654]
Whether they intend to instruct the Pesticides Safety Directorate and the Health and Safety Executive to investigate whether to restrict the use of materials containing metaldehyde to approved uses only, both in domestic and agricultural use; and [HL2655]
What consideration they have given to the fact that the use of metaldehyde is restricted in the United States due to the risk to wildlife; and [HL2656]
Whether they believe that the accumulation of copper by animals eating slug pellets or slugs killed by pellets poses a threat to those animals; and, if so, what action they intend to take. [HL2657]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Metaldehyde and other compounds approved for use to kill slugs may only be marketed and used if approved by Ministers. Approval is only granted following the evaluation of scientific data provided by the company in respect of risks to people and the environment. Any further research need to address subsequent questions about the effects of the product are referred back to the company; it is not the Government's role to support the approval of specific pesticide products. However, DEFRA is carrying out general research on integrated methods of slug control, including novel technologies, to reduce the impact on non-target species.
A pesticide may only be used according to the conditions of its approval. For metaldehyde, these conditions include rules on the formulation of products so that they are not attractive to wild creatures, including birds, and rules for the use of the product so as to minimise the risk of harm to non-target creatures.
Some slug pellets include small quantities of copper compounds to dye the product blue and thus make it unattractive to birds. The Pesticides Safety Dirctorate (PSD) is looking into the suggestion by the Froglife Trust that this practice may be leading to elevated levels of copper in frogs and that this in turn may be damaging their immune systems. If necessary, PSD will require the product approval holders to provide scientific information to clarify the issue.
Metaldehyde products are widely used in gardens in the United States. They carry warnings about risks to wildlife (as do similar products in the UK). The US rules do not appear to suggest the need for changes to the conditions attached to UK approvals.
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