VET URGES PEST CONTROLLERS TO FOLLOW GUIDELINES ON POISONS

▶ Animal welfare volunteer says contractors must follow strict rules to protect children and pets

Pest control companies in Abu Dhabi have been told that chemicals used to eradicate rodents must be marked clearly as being harmful to humans.

The capital’s environment and waste authority, Tadweer, said contractors were expected to adhere to the highest local and international standards.

An animal welfare group operated by a local vet recently discovered transparent packets of bromadiolone in and around community play areas.

The potent chemical is used to kill rodents and can be lethal if ingested by dogs and cats.

Although not deadly in humans, the chemical can cause nosebleeds, bruising, headaches and muscle pain.

“Pest controllers are using unlabelled, home-made devices using poison for rats and mice near residential areas,” said Dr Susan Aylott, an animal welfare volunteer.

“We have seen around 30 of these open canisters placed close to homes and near children’s playgrounds. They are open to the elements and only some were labelled as toxic poison.

“This needs to be taken seriously, as people do not seem to understand the strength of these chemicals.

“They can easily drop out of the traps and look like small bags of red candy, which children could pick up.”

Dr Aylott runs programmes with volunteer vets in the city to trap, neuter and release stray cats in an attempt to reduce the numbers on the street.

Pest controllers are not allowed in controlled areas where the vets work because of the risk of poisoning stray cats and dogs, she said.

Tadweer’s guidelines aim to provide a unified technical framework for controlling public health through defining quality standards and procedures for pest control services.

Emma Button, who rescues hundreds of cats a year in Abu Dhabi to relocate to the UK, said poisoning by unlicensed pest controllers was a persistent problem. “Tadweer has a set of guidelines that state a pest controller must put down marked traps saying who they belong to, but many traps we see do not have that labelling,” she said.

“Some companies we know do not have licensing for animals, just for general pest control. So they should not be trapping at all.

“The traps need to be monitored, so as soon as they have captured an animal they can be collected. Often the traps are just left unattended.”

Tadweer says stray animals are urban pests that may cause nuisance and discomfort to residents or transmit diseases to humans.

It has guidance that covers activities related to impounding stray animals by companies working in Abu Dhabi.

The rules concern the capture, impoundment, transport, treatment and rehoming of dogs, cats, foxes and rabbits.

To perform public health pest control in the emirate, staff must be certified by Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council and have experience in the field.

The use of poisons by unqualified pest controllers can have devastating consequences.

Substances containing aluminium phosphide, known as “bombs” because they can be used in fumigants, are banned from public sale in the UAE but have been used in pellets to kill rodents.

The industrial pesticide was blamed for the 2019 death of Khuzaimah Khan, 10, in Al Nahda, Sharjah, after a family living in a neighbouring flat fumigated their home.

In Abu Dhabi, guidelines for pest control services released in October were developed by a group of 11 entities, including the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and municipalities.

“At Tadweer, we ensure that our services do not cause any threat to public health and the environment,” said Dr Salem Al Kaabi, director general of the agency.

“We aim to provide the best quality of life and keep our communities clean and disease-free.

“Accordingly, we have set guidelines for pest control providers that adhere to the highest local and international standards, which comes in line with our vision to build a sustainable waste management system in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.”

Dr Al Kaabi said Tadweer had put sustainability and innovation at the core of the services it provided.

“In doing so, we ensure moving in the right direction towards building integrated waste management and pest control systems,” he said.

Poisons can easily drop out of the traps and look like small bags of red candy, which children could pick up

DR SUSAN AYLOTT

Vet and animal welfare volunteer