FOI release

EIR2026/00087 – Strategic Risk Register and Decision Records regarding Environmental Impact of Parasiticides

Published 20 March 2026

Your request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following administrative and ready-made information regarding the Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s risk management and decision-making processes concerning environmental safety.
Please note that I am not requesting the creation of new data or opinions, but rather the disclosure of existing metadata and records held on your systems.

1. Please provide the specific “Risk Entry” relating to “Environmental Pollution,” “River Contamination,” or “Ecotoxicity of Companion Animal Parasiticides” as it appears on the VMD’s Strategic Risk Register or the Defra Animal Health & Welfare Board Issues Log. For this entry, please disclose:
   • The Risk Title.
   • The Residual Risk Score (e.g., Red/Amber/Green or numerical value) recorded in November , December 2025 and January 2026
   • The date this entry was last updated.
   If no such specific entry exists on the Risk Register, please explicitly confirm that the VMD does not currently track river pollution from parasiticides as a strategic risk

2. Please provide the “Minutes” or “Decision Record” of the specific VMD Executive Board or Scientific Advisory Committee meeting where these reports were formally considered. Specifically, I request the record of the decision not to suspend or vary the marketing authorisations for Fipronil-based products in light of this new evidence. If no such formal review meeting has taken place since January 1, 2024, please confirm that “no decision record is held” regarding a review of these authorisations

3. Please confirm whether the VMD holds a finalized, retrospective “Environmental Risk Assessment” (ERA) for the cumulative impact of Fipronil spot-on treatments on English waterways, dated after the 2017 agricultural ban. Please answer simply “Yes” or “No.”

Our reply

Response to point 1:

Following a search of our recorded information, we can confirm that the VMD does not hold a risk register entry specifically relating to the environmental impact of ectoparasiticides or their effects on waterways. The VMD’s strategic risk register does contain a broader entry which references Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE, specifically ectoparasiticides used in cats and dogs.  However, this is framed in terms of wider organisational risk and public concern and is not articulated as a discrete environmental‑impact risk relating to ectoparasiticides.  Accordingly, we do not hold a standalone strategic risk of the type specified in your request.

Response to point 2:

Following a search of our recorded information, we can confirm that the VMD does not hold any minutes, papers, or decision records relating to a formal suspension, or variation of the marketing authorisations for fipronil‑based products during the period specified.

While issues relating to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE), including ectoparasiticides, have been discussed in broader context, these discussions have not included a formal consideration of suspension or variation of fipronil‑based marketing authorisations. As a result, no such decision record is held. The VMD has, however, published a range of information on our ongoing work in this area, including updates on the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Group, which may be of interest. These have been attached alongside this response.

Response to point 3:

No, we do not hold such an assessment. For context, all veterinary medicines undergo environmental assessment in line with internationally agreed VICH guidelines. This includes a mandatory Phase I exposure assessment, with a more detailed Phase II assessment conducted only where exposure is expected to be high. Under current guidelines, companion animal products typically conclude at Phase I because environmental exposure is considered negligible.  Based on emerging evidence, the VMD considers that there is now sufficient justification for a review of the VICH Environmental Risk Assessment guideline, and is actively supporting this.