Pet owners should be banned from buying flea sprays at supermarkets because the products contain chemicals that pollute the environment, a parliamentary committee has said.
Baroness Shaista Sheehan wants owners of Britain's 15 million dogs and 13 million cats to consult a vet before buying flea treatment over the counter. The sprays contain chemicals such as fipronil and imidacloprid, which kill fleas but also harm fish after washing off pets into rivers and lakes.
Baroness Sheehan chairs the Environment and Climate Change Committee. She said flea and tick treatments should only be handed out in rare circumstances.
Report findings
Her report, called Paws for Concern: Pets, Parasites and Pollution, found that owners are encouraged to routinely use sprays even when their pets are unlikely to have fleas. She said the overuse of household pet flea and tick treatments is the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and that pet owners deserve accurate, evidence-based guidance on the need for, and risks of, the chemicals being prescribed and their impact on pets, homes and the environment.
The Liberal Democrat peer has called on the government to ban the general sale of flea and tick products from supermarket shelves and unchecked online retailers.
She also raised concerns in the report about what she called a "worryingly embedded" relationship between the pet pharmaceutical industry and the bodies responsible for regulating veterinary medicines and producing guidance.
Blanket use of treatments
The report estimates that 30 per cent of dogs and 20 per cent of cats received parasite treatments year-round, while an additional 50 per cent received some kind of treatment at least once a year. Experts cited in the report describe this routine, year-round use as "blanket use."
River Action's head of campaigns, Amy Fairman, said the charity fully supports the call for a ban. She said these flea treatments are among the most toxic chemicals entering rivers, yet continue to be sold with little thought for where they end up, and that pet owners deserve clear, informed advice so they can understand the potential impact on rivers and wildlife.
