Ban the sale of all non-organic pesticides to the general public

Many non-organic pesticides can currently be sold to anyone in the UK without any checks or training. They should be banned from sale, online and in person, to the general public.

41% of insects around the world are threatened with extinction, including due to use of pesticides, alongside habitat destruction and climate change (Wildlife Trusts). We've seen a 68% decrease in population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 - 2016 (The Living Planet Report 2020). There is a wealth of experience that shows you can home garden successfully without non-organic pesticides, yet these kill billions of insects each year, which also contributes to the deaths of birds, mammals and other life that need them.

The Government will not ban the sale of non-organic pesticides to amateur gardeners. Authorised pesticides, used carefully, are an acceptable way of managing the natural environment.

Authorised pesticides, used carefully, are an acceptable way of managing the natural environment. The UK National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (NAP) sets out Defra’s ambition to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment. We will publish an updated NAP this year.

This Government supports integrated pest management (IPM) across sectors. We have demonstrated this through the package of research projects that we recently funded, that bring together scientific evidence on IPM. This work will support access to effective IPM tools and ensure that we understand changing trends in pest threats across the UK. We also introduced new paid actions within the SFI scheme to increase the uptake of IPM, such as the establishment and maintenance of flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips, and the use of companion cropping.

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/624406