Submitted by PBMS Admin on
Lee Walker attended a meeting of the Task Force in Support of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU UK) on 5th December 2018. The CRRU code promotes responsible use of rodenticides and Best Practice outlines how rodenticides are to be used to minimise exposure to wildlife. CRRU-UK are responsible for running the current stewardship programme for anticoagulant rodenticides in the UK.
Lee discussed the ongoing monitoring of barn owls for exposure to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs). This work, funded by CRRU, forms part of the activities undertaken by the stewardship programme.
Lee commented: “We discussed the latest report on the barn owl monitoring and also a second draft report, due to be published on the PBMS website in January 2019, on the exposure of red kites to SGARs. Both pieces of work provide important evidence that helps us assess the outcomes of stewardship.”
In addition, Lee also gave an overview of work that will be carried out under the NERC-funded project “Chem Pop” which looks to answer the question “Does the discharge of chemicals to the environment harm wildlife populations?”
The barn owl report can be downloaded from the publications page of the PBMS website: Barn owls. Further details of the Chem Pop project can be found here: Chem Pop.
