The Bill to restrict glue trap use in England has passed its third and final reading in the House of Lords unopposed and with no amendments.
The Bill will now go for Royal Assent ahead of the Queen’s speech, which is expected to be on Tuesday, May 10.
If the Bill does not get Royal Assent before the Queen’s speech, then the whole process has to begin again, however at this stage that seems unlikely.
The Bill as it stands would make it an offence for a person to:
- Set a glue trap if the intention was to kill rodents or if they knew it could kill a rodent;
- Allow or permit someone else to set the trap; and
- In addition, if a person passing saw such a trap and did nothing about it, this would also be an offence.
BPCA fought for an exemption for pest controllers, and this amendment remains in the Bill after its third reading in the House of Lords.
This will be managed through a licensing regime, although the details of that regime are yet to be decided.
Ian Andrew, BPCA chief executive, said: “We’ve already put our best foot forward and begun initial conversations with stakeholders ahead of the Bill becoming law.
“We’ll be continuing those while the details of any glue trap licensing scheme are formed, as it’s critical that pest management has a voice during the building of any new licensing system that affects our industry.”
There is expected to be at least a two-year period between the Bill becoming law and when offences will apply, in order for a suitable licensing regime to be put in place.
Lord Benyon, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said that Government currently expects the public authority delegated with the licensing functions to be Natural England, as it already fulfilled this function for other licences relating to wildlife management, such as licences for bird control.
Lord Benyon said: “Government looks forward to working closely with animal welfare groups and pest control organisations to ensure that the licensing regime is appropriate and effective.”