Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use
(CRRU) UK

Rodenticides are vital to prevent disease in humans and animals to protect property and equipment from damage and to ensure the highest possible standards of food hygiene.  However, the way we use rodenticide causes contamination of some of our most important wildlife species.

Government agencies responsible for the regulation of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) raised concern that many species of wildlife, such as barn owls, are being accidentally exposed to these products, so they called for better stewardship of rodenticides to prevent wildlife exposure.  The rodenticide industry (manufacturers and distributors) along with other stakeholders acting as a whole, recognised the need to address the concerns surrounding the responsible use of rodenticides by creating the CRRU Stewardship Regime (Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use) to ensure that rodenticides are used correctly and in ways that will minimise the exposure of SGARs in non-target wildlife. The barn owl is the sentinel species used to measure the incidence of SGAR residues in non-target wildlife. 

Lodi UK is a CRRU UK member company and places paramount importance on the correct use of its rodent baits to ensure that end users get the results they have paid for whilst ensuring that none target species do not come to any harm from rodenticide use.  

All professional rodenticides with CRRU stewardship label conditions can only be supplied to professional users holding certification demonstrating compliance with the CRRU UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime.  

Changes to Certification Needed When Buying Professional Rodenticides

Regulation changes coming into effect from 1 January

2026 necessitate new enhanced proof of competence requirements for everyone buying or using professional rodenticides. From 2026 farm assurance will no longer be acceptable as proof of competence; and so as a user of rodenticides you must ensure you meet the new requirements before the end of this year. There are two options for obtaining the mandatory certification, and we strongly encourage early action to ensure continued access to the rodenticides you may need.

From 1 January 2026 you will need to either:

• Provide proof of training on a CRRU UK approved course, that must have been completed in

the past 5 years.

OR

• Be part of a CRRU UK recognised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme.

Starting 1 January 2026, you will need to provide evidence of one of these requirements at the point of sale. Additionally, as of April 2025, an updated declaration has been issued and will need to be signed and returned to the place of rodenticide purchase. Appointed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), CRRU was established to promote responsible use of rodenticides among all professional user groups, including professional pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers. To find out more about CRRU’s training and CPD schemes use the links on the dedicated page of our website www.thinkwildlife.org/training-certification/; and follow us on social media for the latest updates.

While widespread advances including improved competence and best practice and understanding on the impacts of rodenticides on wildlife have been made, stewardship environmental targets have not been met.

A recent headline from CRRU Chairman Dr Alan Buckle is that “a stubbornly static 80% of barn owls carry residues of one or more SGARs”.    Therefore, for the regime to achieve its purpose and to protect essential uses of rodenticides for all professional user sectors in the future, the directors of CRRU decided that from January 2026 onwards, all purchasers and users of professional SGAR products (pest controllers, gamekeepers and farmers) must hold either a stewardship-specific training certificate less than five years old, or an older one with proof of membership of a stewardship-specific CPD scheme.  As the five-year certificate expiry dates approach, holders can either repeat the training and requalify, or join a CPD scheme.  

An additional measure designed to strengthen rodenticide stewardship announced last year, is that from 4 July 2024, no SGARs are allowed to be purchased for use in open areas or waste dumps (use by 31^st December 2024) and will be restricted for use indoors and outdoors around buildings.  Ending the use of all SGARs in open areas aims to reduce the threat posed to non-target species.

The latest UK Rodenticide Stewardship annual report dated January 2025 CRRU Annual Report 2024 includes for the first time an explanation specific to rodent pest control of what constitutes a ‘building’:

Summarised from guidance in the report: this means a permanent enclosed structure with foundations, constructed from wood, brick, concrete or metal that provides protection from the elements and minimises access by non-target species that might otherwise consume rodenticide baits placed inside. Temporary or easily moved structures are not generally considered to be buildings.

Download CRRU Stewardship Regime Declaration Forms Here:

RESOURCES:

CRRU UK Code of Best Practice

Approved CRRU Training Certificates Please note alterations made to this list in regard to Rodent Control on Farms 'customised provision'

Approved Farm Assurance Schemes (not accepted at point of sale from 2026)

Supply Chain Declaration(to be completed by companies selling rodenticides with stewardship conditions)

Certificated User Declaration(to be completed by companies with certificated users who wish to purchase rodenticides with stewardship conditions)

Farm Assurance Scheme Declaration (to be completed by farms that are members of an approved Farm Assurance Scheme who wish to purchase rodenticides with stewardship conditions)

Questions and Answers and 'what-if' scenarios to accompany the declarations 

BASIS OUTLET RODENTICIDE POINT OF SALE AUDITS 

Suppliers of professional use rodenticides to pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers are required to register with BASIS Registration Ltd for the Stewardship Regime Point-of-Sale audit process and certification. Registration and a successful audit will ensure ongoing compliance with the stewardship regime and allow you to retain the supply of these products.

To register your outlet for the BASIS point of sale audit, please follow this link: 

Basis Audit

Point of sale checks also apply to online sales of professional use rodenticide packs.  Detailed guidance for Internet Sales can be downloaded here:

CRRU UK Guidance for Internet Sales of Rodenticide in the UK CRRU Guidance for Internet Sales