An independent government review in the United Kingdom concludes that the UK’s stewardship regime for professional rodenticides (products used against rodents) has delivered important safeguards for human health, animal health and the environment, and recommends continuing the regime with stronger monitoring and more support for users. This is reported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK regulator for occupational safety and chemicals, in a press release dated 3 November 2026 on the report of the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Government Oversight Group (GOG), an interdepartmental oversight group chaired by HSE.
What does rodenticide stewardship involve?
The regime covers anticoagulant rodenticides: products that disrupt blood clotting in rodents. According to HSE, stewardship keeps professional products flowing only through approved outlets to trained, competent users who work within integrated pest management, under which chemical control is not the first option. This is relevant for EHS professionals in sectors such as agriculture and horticulture, food processing and professional pest control, since it sets the conditions under which these products may be used.
Findings: progress made, but target missed
According to GOG, the regime — which has run since 2016 through the industry-led CRRU UK scheme (Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use) — has produced a more competent profession and enabled consistent environmental monitoring. Even so, one key target was not met: the review found no measurable reduction in second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls, an indicator species for wider environmental exposure, compared with the pre-stewardship baseline. GOG stresses that this does not mean risks have gone unmanaged or that stewardship has failed overall; without the current measures, the group judges that risks would likely be higher. The oversight group therefore recommends continuing and strengthening the regime, including through expanded environmental monitoring, funding for new residue research, better insight into key user groups and clearer information for users.
Consequences for authorisation
Richard Daniels, Director of the Chemicals Regulation Division at HSE, describes anticoagulant rodenticides as “powerful tools, which would not normally be approved”: they are authorised only because they are essential to protect human health, animal health and the environment from the serious risks posed by rodent infestations. HSE is currently carrying out routine renewal assessments of anticoagulant rodenticide products and is taking GOG’s conclusions and recommendations into account, including in deciding whether these products remain authorised.
Context
Within the European Union too, anticoagulant rodenticides are authorised only under strict conditions. The substances fall under the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (EU) 528/2012 and are often persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT), but approval of the active substances was renewed in 2017 because insufficient alternatives are available. This comes with use conditions set at EU level, included in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) of all anticoagulant-based products, such as use in tamper-resistant bait boxes and outdoor use in line with integrated pest management, according to the Dutch Ctgb (Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides).
Source: Independent review recommends continued rodenticide stewardship under strengthened regime, 3 November 2026
Also consulted: Renewals of rodenticide authorisations under strict conditions
