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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the University of Sussex, Chipping Norton Veterinary Hospital, and the Environment Agency, Potential role of veterinary flea products in widespread pesticide contamination of English rivers, published on 7 November; and what steps they intend to take in response to that report.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has evaluated the report and while acknowledging the general findings, also recognises that no definitive conclusions can be drawn from it. The VMD works closely with the Environment Agency and was already aware of the monitoring data, which are pivotal to the publication.

The publication suggests that veterinary medicines may be contributing to the levels of parasiticides present in the UK waters. The paper under discussion only loosely acknowledges that there is a lack of understanding and data in key areas to ascertain if veterinary medicines are causing harm in the environment. Such areas include the need to assess how much of these compounds are bound and not in free form, and therefore unavailable to cause harm. These aspects need to be considered when evaluating the potential impact of these compounds on the aquatic environment and are not emphasised in the report. Importantly, the report also did not distinguish exposure routes of other potential sources of parasiticide (e.g. ant baits, use in greenhouses, historic agricultural use and products used to protect textiles), which may be significant. Much uncertainty remains, therefore, over the actual contribution from veterinary medicinal use.

Parasiticides are used in veterinary medicines for the treatment of fleas and ticks on companion animals. It is possible that following their use on dogs and cats, some parasiticides may reach the aquatic environment. The environmental exposure assessments conducted for such flea products, however, consider the exposure of the aquatic environment to be low.

Medicines containing imidacloprid and fipronil are accompanied by advice to users to keep treated animals out of watercourses for 2 to 4 days after treatment. If these measures are followed, it is expected that exposure to the environment should be negligible.

Due to concerns and uncertainties raised by previous research and monitoring data, the VMD commissioned research in 2019 to investigate the potential environmental exposure pathways for dog and cat flea and tick products, to assess the significance of the use of neonicotinoids (e.g. imidacloprid) and other parasiticides (e.g. fipronil) on the aquatic environment. This research is due to be completed in March 2023.

Pending the findings of this commissioned research, and other available evidence, currently we do not have any plans to change the existing regulatory controls on veterinary medicines, including the use of flea treatments for pets and the existing risk mitigation warnings, which protect animal health, human health and the environment.

Defra is committed to continuing to consider the evidence to inform any policy decisions or other interventions such as reinforcing the message not to wash animals for the period stipulated.