The Environment Agency Position
Regulatory position statement
The burial of rodents
poisoned on farmland
If you comply with the requirements below, we will allow the burial of rodents poisoned on farmland.
Background
The bodies of vermin poisoned by routine baiting should be disposed of without delay to prevent contact with other wildlife. We originally agreed that farmers and gamekeepers could dispose of the bodies on site. We have now extended this position to include individuals acting as pest controllers and small pest control businesses. When a rodent control company is employed for routine or larger scale extermination, we expect its employees to gather and remove the carcasses off farm for suitably authorised incineration or landfill.
The Environment Agency´s position
We will not pursue an application for an environmental permit for the activity where:
  • individual/small numbers of poisoned rodents are buried on farmland by farmers, gamekeepers and pest control operatives provided this is done without delay and in line with the Code of Practice for the Protection of Water;
  • the activity is managed through the monitoring and feedback system developed by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health which assesses the risks and benefits of the scheme;
  • you meet the relevant objectives of the Waste Framework Directive:
    "… ensuring that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment and in particular without ­
  • risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals; or
  • causing nuisance through noise or odours; or
  • adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest."
Enforcement
In not pursuing an application for a permit, this means we will not normally take enforcement action unless the activity has caused, or is likely to cause, pollution or harm to health. For a more detailed explanation of this enforcement position, please refer to the Public Interest Factors in the Guidance to the Enforcement and Prosecution Policy. This can be found on the ´How and Why we Regulate Your Business´ page in the Business & Industry section of our web site.
This regulatory position will be reviewed by 31 March 2010.
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