Pesticides treating fleas in pets found in dead chicks in Sussex
Researchers at the University of Sussex also found traces of pesticides in every single feather they tested from the five most common garden birds.
Pesticides used to treat fleas in pets is being found in unhatched bird eggs and dead chicks in Sussex.
Researchers at the University of Sussex also found traces of pesticides in every single feather they tested from the five most common garden birds.
They're now calling for further studies to understand more about how these birds are exposed to pesticides, and how this exposure is impacting bird health and welfare.
Lead researcher Dr Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu, Research Fellow at the University of Sussex’s School of Life Sciences said: “This research shows for the first time that chemicals commonly found in flea and tick treatments are transferring from contaminated nest material to unhatched eggs and dead chicks.
"We have also found these chemicals in samples of common garden bird feathers.
“These findings highlight the need to evaluate the environmental safety of veterinary products and their potential impact on wildlife, particularly given the frequent, year-round application of these treatments which may contribute to a chronic and largely overlooked source of chemical exposure.”
Professor Dave Goulson, Professor Of Biology at the University of Sussex, added: “It was deeply concerning to discover that potent insecticides, long-banned in agriculture but still used as spot-on flea and tick treatments on pets, are widely contaminating rivers and are also found in blue tit and great tit eggs and chicks and in feathers of adult songbirds.
This widespread environmental contamination is unacceptable. Defra need to take regulatory steps to sort this mess out as a matter of urgency.”