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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: March 2007

EU rules for moles

 

BRUSSELS--The European Commission in February 2007 upheld a ruling by the European Union Health & Safety Executive that strychnine may no longer be used to kill moles. The verdict means all burrowing mammals should now be safer from poisoning, either as targeted or accidental victims.

"Last September a new EU law regulated a wide range of poisons, including strychnine, to ensure they were safe and had no harmful effect on the environment," explained Charles Clover of the Daily Telegraph. "Manufacturers failed to offer evidence that proved strychnine does not harm the environment, so the British government appealed to the EU on behalf of the 3,000 licensed users of the poison who kill moles on grassland or golf courses. The appeal was denied.

Anticipating that more moles may now be trapped, Member of the European Parliament Chris Davies, a Liberal Democrat, called upon the U.K. Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to introduce a requirement that mole traps be checked every 24 hours.

"Banning this chemical is good news for the environment," Davies said, "but urgent action must be taken to ensure it doesn't lead to even more cruel deaths for moles. It is time," Davies added, "to realize we cannot simply exterminate a creature because it pushes up a few daisies."