Impact case study database

Anticoagulant Rodenticides Stewardship Regime: All FGARs and SGARs fail environmental risk assessment for use outdoors; however, the UK Government recognises that their use is sometimes necessary to control pests because of the threats they can pose, for example to public health [A], plus the limited availability of safer alternatives (to humans, animals and the environment). The HSE is the lead agency and Statutory Competent Authority for government policy on biocides/rodenticides in the UK. For HSE to authorise the use of AR products, it asked the industry to explore ways to improve and spread good practice and self-policing of professional use of these products. In late 2012, the HSE asked the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) to coordinate this task on behalf of its members (48 people from 32 stakeholder organisations). The CRRU has been chaired by Buckle since 2004. The main output of this task is the UK’s AR Stewardship Regime, or SR, with Prescott as lead of the Monitoring Work Group between 2012 and 2018, and subsequently as member of the Monitoring Work Group and Technical Advisor for the CRRU. The CRRU SR is currently the only SR in practice and has three main target user groups: professional pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers [A]. The key benefits from the SR are a competent workforce, monitoring compliance and governance of the supply chain.

Competent Workforce: Professional rodenticide products can only be purchased legally by those who are able to show they are sufficiently competent to use them for effective rodent control. Thus, all rodent control practitioners must go through the SR training and certification. Research at Reading directly feeds into the RRAC resistance mapping tool (see Figure 1) [B], which is utilised in the SR training and certification, and is partly funded by the RRAC [C].

Professional Pest Controllers: Since the beginning of the SR in 2015, approximately 26,000 people - of whom approximately 23,000 are practitioners - have taken CRRU-approved courses via the four Awarding Organisations (Lantra, City and Guilds, BASIS and RSPH), passed the exam and received a certificate for proof of competence [D, E]. Each course is mapped against the content requirements developed by CRRU [E]. In addition to the training, five CRRU modules have been developed for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The CPD modules went online in July 2017, and since have been downloaded from the CRRU website 7,000 times - the module on environmental risk assessment alone has been downloaded 3,000 times [D].

The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) is the leading trade association for pest control. The BPCA CEO, Ian Andrew writes: “ *The Research undertaken by the University of Reading helps provide a tangible tool for pest professionals across the UK tackling the issue of rodenticide resistance in their area. Through the use of the resistance map, professionals can tailor their service approach depending on the individual resistance issues in their area, thereby making their pest programmes more effective, whilst using less ineffective rodenticide, reducing the risk of non-target exposure.*” [F]. The BPCA survey was sent to 9,495 people with an open rate of 28% or 2,659 members, of which 255 completed the survey. With members responding from every county across the UK, they were asked what specific actions their resistance awareness has resulted in, and 143 people responded in freeform text. Over half of the comments were about “changing bait;” i.e., that resistance awareness has changed their practice directly: “ Withdrawal from use of actives where there is known resistance increased emphasis of environmental management measures and physical means of control, supported by use of more toxic actives (Brodifacoum) where appropriate.” Members highlighted their sources for awareness resistance, including: 37% citing the SR training certification course; 67% the CPD courses; 51% the CRRU website; 79% the BPCA website and articles; and of the magazines: 61% BPCA, 53% Killgerm, 45% Pest and 18% National Pest Technician’s Association. The importance of Reading’s research was commented upon positively by 115 people: “ Had it not been for the Reading research published in the trade magazines I would not have been aware the area of resistance had grown.”, “ The data proves that the pest management community’s engagement with the University of Reading’s research results in heightened awareness of resistance, subsequent change of practice; plus extensive use of CRRU’s SR training and CPD courses” [F].

Farmers & Gamekeepers: Across the UK, there are 17 Farm Assurance Schemes with standards for rodent pest management that comply with the CRRU Code of Best Practice and make direct reference to it in their published standards [D]. Over 94,000 premises in the farming sector are registered with these schemes. Prior to 2015, very few gamekeepers were qualified professionals. In 2015, the CRUU organised a meeting at the headquarters of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). All gamekeeper organisations attended: the National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO), the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Countryside Alliance. Together, the group designed a special one-day rodent control course for gamekeepers based on a previous CRRU course called ‘Wildlife Aware’. It was then mapped by the CRRU Training and Certification Working Group and approved. The Awarding Organisation, BASIS, includes this course on its roster and the GWCT, NGO and BASC became the course providers for gamekeepers [D, E].

Monitoring Compliance: Progress with the SR is monitored by a Government Oversight Group (GOG) chaired by the HSE, and represents other government stakeholders, including: HSE Northern Ireland, DEFRA, Public Health England, Natural England, the Welsh and Scottish Governments and an independent scientific adviser. Monitoring compliance of the Stewardship Regime comes in many forms, including annual reports to GOG [G], and Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Surveys that look at behaviour change for the three target rodenticide user groups: pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers. The 2017 KAP Survey data has been compared to that obtained in 2015 (note that 2019 is not yet available). The comparison [H] shows that the percentage of users holding rodenticide use qualifications increased across all user sectors, but especially among gamekeepers (from 37% to 60%). Awareness of the SR increased across all sectors: in farming (from 20% to 35%); gamekeeping (from 30% to 56%); and pest controllers (from 56% to 89%). There is evidence of more training being taken up in each of the three sectors, especially in gamekeeping, which appears to have made significant progress in the last two years in terms of increased professionalism. Uptake of training and attendance at seminars on responsible rodenticide usage increased between 2015 and 2017 among farmers (from 11% to 19%), gamekeepers (from 14% to 49%) and pest controllers (from 71% to 83%) [H].

Governance of the Supply Chain: Reading research has informed the CRRU guidance, which carries regulatory weight. There are >700 rodenticide products available on the market, from 15 manufacturers and distributors. Each product must adhere to the CRRU guidance in order to make it to market, and this is evident on their authorisation labels. The HSE website stipulates that an SGAR product cannot be sold in the UK unless evidence is provided that the seller is part of a stewardship programme. It also sets out the ‘High Level Principles’ that must be met by an HSE-approved stewardship regime, and it states that the CRRU regime meets these principles [I]. The CRRU can also be credited with influencing government policy – starting with the introduction of new guidelines for the management of resistant infestations of Norway Rats [7]. The working groups and SR have also contributed to further understanding of the science behind resistance, so much so that since 31 January 2015, the HSE have said that all five SGARs (bromadiolone, difenacoum, difethialone, flocoumafen and brodifacoum) can be used in and around farm buildings, which can be corroborated through the HSE database [J].

Research at Reading is improving awareness of AR resistance through the SR, which is resulting in a definitive change in baiting practices amongst pest controllers and further standardised training for farmers and gamekeepers. As a result, more targeted and controlled use of existing AR products in the market can continue for the foreseeable future.