Health & Beauty
Toxic pet medicines
Government issues urgent warning to pet owners as toxic chemicals found in fake flea treatments.
2 July 2025
The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee has found that the intensive and unnecessary overuse of Pet Parasite Medications (PPMs), often promoted by the pet pharmaceutical industry, is not supported by robust scientific evidence.
More importantly, through their release into the environment from our homes, they are potentially causing widespread damage to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
The cross-party Committee’s report, ‘Paws for Concern: Pets, Parasites and Pollution’, published today (Wednesday 05 August), is calling for a ban on the general sale of off-the-shelf and unchecked online pet treatments for fleas and ticks.
The Committee argues that pet owners should receive a thorough assessment of the needs of their pets and advice about the potential health and environmental risks of pet parasiticides. After hearing from a range of witnesses, including vets, pet charities, retailers, ecologists, academics, research institutes, regulators and the government, the Committee also raise concerns about how the pet pharmaceutical industry appears to be worryingly embedded within the regulatory and advice-setting frameworks.
‘It’s heartening to see the Environment and Climate Change Committee taking this issue seriously.
‘There’s a reason these toxic chemicals are banned in agriculture, so banning their sale as part of over-the-counter flea treatments is long overdue. A single monthly dose containing these chemicals for a large dog is enough to kill 25 million bees. When our pets take a dip in a river or owners give them a bath, they can easily end up in our waterways posing a huge threat to wildlife.
‘As long as we expose Britain’s waterways to the toxic side effects of these chemicals, their condition will continue to deteriorate. Reining in the use of these treatments is a crucial step towards cleaning up our degraded river systems and allowing life to flourish again in the water.’
GEORGE DUNCAN JONES
Biodiversity Policy Lead at Greenpeace UK
The Committee is calling on the government to establish a clear and comprehensive evidence base on the use of PPMs, including the volume of products sold, the proportion of pets routinely treated and the prevalence of pet parasites.
It wants the government to ensure that research, with appropriate financial contributions from the pet pharmaceutical industry, addresses ‘as a matter of priority’ the significant evidence gaps between the environmental impacts of PPMs and the potential risks to human health;
More rigorous (Phase II) Environmental Risk Assessments should be required for all existing and future PPMs as soon as possible.
The government should also advocate for a more precautionary approach to PPM use to reduce the number of unnecessary treatments, particularly for low-risk animals. This includes strengthening advice and guidance, ensuring PPMs cannot be sold without qualified advice (including online), and making risks more visible on packaging.
The relationship between the industry and UK and international veterinary medicine regulators should also be reviewed, to ensure that any risk of regulatory capture is removed and give confidence that appropriate and independent guidance is prioritised;
‘Our report raises serious questions and concerns about the environmental risks of pet flea and tick treatments as well as how they are sold to pet owners. Their over-use on household pets is the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. ‘The lack of scientific evidence and data, poor customer guidance and the relationship between the pet medication suppliers and regulators appear as murky as the waterways these flea treatments are polluting.
‘Pet owners deserve accurate evidence-based guidance on the need for, and risks of, the existing and new chemicals which are being prescribed and the impact they are having on their pets, home and the environment.’
BARONESS SHEEHAN
Chair of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee
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