31 Oct 2025
A revised policy document has called on clinicians to avoid using topical treatments on animals that are likely to swim or be bathed and warned all stakeholders to take the environmental threat ‘seriously’.
Allister Webb
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IMAGE: © tatomm / Adobe Stock
Three leading veterinary groups have called for a “more considered approach” to be taken towards the use of small animal parasiticides.
The BVA, BSAVA and BVZS (British Veterinary Zoological Society) have urged all stakeholders to take environmental concerns linked to the products “seriously” in an updated policy document released today, 31 October.
Among its priorities for action, the new paper urges vets to avoid using topical products on pets that are likely to swim or be bathed “where possible and reasonable”.
It also encourages practices to enable risk assessment within their health places and empower clinicians to discuss tailored treatment plans with their clients.
Concerns have been growing for some time about parasiticides’ environmental impact and whether they are being used appropriately in veterinary practice.
A government-led roadmap to assess the impact on waterways, which officials said could ultimately lead to regulatory change, was outlined in July.
But BVA president Rob Williams said today: “With more evidence coming to light to suggest that our rivers and lakes can become contaminated with these products due to treated animals swimming in them or being bathed after treatments, it is clear change is needed.”
As well as further research, the document’s priorities also include calls for the VMD to review product classifications and environmental assessments plus greater collaboration on issues of resistance and public awareness.
It also urged pharmaceutical companies to prioritise development of a “narrow spectrum” product for lungworm, as an alternative to combination products, to help reduce the problem of overtreatment.
BSAVA president Julian Hoad said: “As veterinary professionals, it is incumbent on us to minimise the potential adverse impact of parasiticides on the environment whilst protecting animal and human health.”
BVZS president Elliott Simpson-Brown also described the paper as “an important indicator of the focus now being applied to the broader responsible use of veterinary medicines”.
