Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of commercially available slug pellets on garden birds and hedgehogs; and if he will make a statement.

Slug pellets are regulated as pesticides. This means that they may only be sold and used if scientific risk assessments find no harmful effect on people and no unacceptable effects on the environment. Possible effects on birds and mammals are considered as part of the environmental assessment. Regulatory decisions are regularly reviewed so that safety can be reassessed using the latest data and scientific knowledge.

Slug pellets containing metaldehyde are currently being reviewed with the scientific assessment being carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides. The issue of impacts on birds and mammals is being carefully considered.