There are numerous threats to the complex life systems within our rivers and it is imperative that we all try and do what we can to give life a chance. Whilst salmon are perhaps the most iconic of fish they are perhaps the proverbial canary in the coal mine and their plight is an indication of the overall health of our planet. See below issues sent to me by James at Lance Nicholson’s.
The Issue
🐾 MILLIONS of doses of pet flea and tick treatments containing imidacloprid and fipronil are sold without prescription in the UK every year. These powerful insecticides — which have been restricted in farming for the past 7 years — are freely available in supermarkets and online to use on pets and are contaminating our rivers, harming wildlife – and us.
Recent studies show they’re found in 100% of tested UK urban streams, harming the very species our ecosystems rely on — mayflies, dragonflies, beetles, and the birds and fish that depend on them.
This is chemical pollution on a national scale, and it could be stopped now…
✍️ PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION
To: Baroness Hayman, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Call on the UK Government to end the non-veterinary sale of imidacloprid and fipronil pet flea and tick treatments
❗ THE PROBLEM
– Imidacloprid and fipronil are deadly to aquatic invertebrates even in minute quantities.
– These pesticides enter water systems when washed from treated pets, from their bedding, or even our hands
– One treated dog can contaminate 5 million litres of water above safe levels.
– Yet these treatments are sold without guidance, warning, or oversight.
🚫 WHAT WE’RE ASKING
We urge the UK Government to:
1. Ban the sale of imidacloprid and fipronil-based pet parasite treatments except by veterinary prescription
2. Immediately improve warning labels to highlight the environmental harm of these products
3. Support research into safer, eco-friendly alternatives for parasite control
✍️ PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AND SHARE THIS WITH AS MANY OTHERS AS POSSIBLE
Let’s protect our rivers, wildlife, and national parks!
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About the Exmoor Society
The Exmoor Society is a registered charity working to protect and promote the unique landscape, wildlife and communities of Exmoor. We believe the environment and the economy must go hand in hand — and that protecting nature starts with knowledge, action and partnership.
