Wednesday, 22nd September 2010
Rats lose out in key Strasbourg vote
In a remarkable victory today in Strasbourg, a majority of MEPs voted against an amendment which would have banned a key ingredient in EU rat poisons. Green MEPs had tabled an amendment called for an EU-wide ban on Difenacoum, which is present in around half of all anti-coagulant rat poisons used in Europe. A Conservative campaign to defeat this amendment won the day.
Speaking after the vote, Scottish Conservative Euro MP Struan Stevenson said:
"Conservatives managed to vote down earlier attempts by the Greens and their socialist allies to ban all anti-coagulant rodenticides in the Environment Committee earlier this year. But when the report came up for approval in the full plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, they had re-tabled an amendment seeking to ban Difenacoum.
"If their ban had succeeded, it would have led to an explosion of the rat and mice population in Europe, as there are no viable alternatives to this effective kind of rat poison which has been safely used for years. The consequent damage to stored crops and farm and domestic properties would have been horrendous. According to the Fire Service, around 7% of all UK house fires and a staggering 50% of all farm fires are caused by rats gnawing electric cables. Banning Difenacoum, which has already undergone rigorous scientific safety testing in the UK, would have been disastrous.
"I have been inundated with emails and letters from farmers and pest control companies who were alarmed at the prospect of Difenacoum being banned. I am delighted that our campaign to defeat this crazy attempt at a ban won the day."
