STRYCHNINE and sodium cyanide are the two main poisons which have been surrendered during the Scottish Government’s amnesty on illegal pesticides.
The scheme to get rid of illegal pesticides which could be used to poison wildlife will close on 29 May, Environment Minister Dr Aileen McLeod announced yesterday.
The scheme allows those who know or suspect they are in possession of illegal pesticides to dispose of them safely and confidentially.
More than 80 requests for collection and disposal have already been accepted through the scheme. Some 44 of the requests concerned sodium cyanide and 30 were for strychnine.
There have also been five requests for disposal of mevinphos, which has been banned since the early 1990s and five requests for disposal of carbofuran, with more than 80kg accepted for collection so far.
McLeod said: “Since it was launched on 23 February, the pesticides disposal scheme has resulted in the removal of some extremely dangerous substances from our environment. By helping to dispose of them now, we are ensuring these stocks can never be used in the future to illegally target Scotland’s wildlife.
“I would encourage people to carefully and safely check sheds and outbuildings for old stocks of illegal substances. If you are, or think you may be, in possession of illegal pesticides, I strongly encourage you to phone the disposal scheme line before it closes on 29 May.
“Tackling wildlife crime is a key priority for the Scottish Government. We have the strongest wildlife legislation in the UK, and in the last few months we have seen the first-ever custodial sentence for the killing of birds of prey and the first conviction of a landowner under the vicarious liability provisions, for crimes committed in 2012.”
Rob Livesey, vice-president of NFU Scotland said: “It is imperative that any farmer and crofter with one of these products acts now to get it disposed of free of charge and anonymously. We understand that it is a very busy time of year, but it would be great to see a surge of enquiries during the last month so that as much is taken out of circulation as possible. Don’t delay, call today.”
Scottish Gamekeepers Association Chairman Alex Hogg said: “This has been a very worthwhile scheme, as the take-up proves. It is likely there are people out there who, until now, have had no way of identifying or safely disposing of chemicals which should no longer be held. We hope even more pesticides are collected before this month’s deadline.”
Douglas McAdam of Scottish Land and Estates said: “With the volume and range of material that has been removed through this disposal scheme, it has undoubtedly been a worthwhile success. Now that the announced deadline of the scheme is looming, we would urge anyone who has not yet taken action to make use of this opportunity to dispose of these dangerous materials.”
The disposal scheme can be contacted on 0131 471 4187.
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