Call for ban on pet flea treatments over concerns using them causes pollution
By CAMERON CHARTERS
Published: 19:01 EDT, 4 August 2026 | Updated: 08:08 EDT, 5 August 2026
Pet owners should be banned from buying flea sprays at supermarkets because they contain chemicals which pollute the environment, a parliamentary committee said.
Baroness Shaista Sheehan wants the owners of Britain's 15 million dogs and 13 million cats to ask a vet if their pet needs treatment before buying a spray over the counter.
The sprays contain chemicals such as fipronil and imidacloprid which kill fleas but also harm fish because they end up in rivers and lakes when washed off pets.
Baroness Sheehan, who chairs the Environment and Climate Change Committee, said flea and tick treatments should only be handed out in rare circumstances.
Her report called Paws for Concern: Pets, Parasites and Pollution, finds owners are encouraged to routinely use sprays even when their pets are unlikely to have fleas.
She said: 'The overuse of household pet flea and tick treatments is the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16027089/Call-ban-pet-flea-treatments-concerns-using-causes-pollution.html
