Anticholinesterase pesticides and wildlife in the UK

A range of monitoring activities has shown impacts of anticholinesterase pesticides on UK wildlife, and continued risks are evident from laboratory and field experiments, together with the scale of use in the field. Along with other broad-spectrum insecticides, many organophosphates have adverse direct effects on non-target arthropods in farmland, and so are likely to contribute towards indirect effects of pesticides on farmland biodiversity. The anticholinesterase insecticides have both lethal and sublethal effects on aquatic wildlife, however the history of recent incidents of damage to river ecology following the wider use of synthetic pyrethroid sheep dips, illustrates the need to consider the implications of changes in the use of alternative products when reviewing these insecticides.