Sustainable Veterinary Care at Elston Veterinary Clinic

At Elston Veterinary Clinic, we are very thoughtful about protecting both our pets and their carers from harmful diseases and infections. Equally, we are mindful of the effect the treatments we use have on the environment.

As part of our commitment to sustainable veterinary care and environmentally responsible practice, we aim to reduce the environmental impact of modern pet healthcare while continuing to provide the highest standards of clinical care.

We believe that there is a balance between what is best for our pets and us, and what is best for the fragile planet we live on. We try our best to find solutions to achieve this balance, which ultimately will provide a healthier world for us and our pets.

We have hope for a better future, and believe that vets and pet carers have an opportunity to make a positive contribution towards improvement of the state of the environment, and that every small effort makes a difference, which is why we are passionate about this.

What Does Sustainable Veterinary Care Involve?

There are many aspects of sustainable veterinary care and environmentally responsible pet healthcare, including:

• Using fewer resources within our veterinary practice
• Reducing our contribution to global warming and lowering our carbon footprint
• Reducing antimicrobial and parasiticide resistance
• Reducing negative effects on biodiversity
• Reducing our pets’ carbon footprint and environmental impact

Sustainable Parasite Control: A Risk-Based Approach

Elston’s journey towards more sustainable veterinary practice is starting with our use of flea and tick treatments (also known as parasiticides).

We no longer believe that the best approach to controlling these pests is a blanket treatment of all pets in the same way, using the same products and treatment intervals for all animals.

A better way is to use what we call a “risk-based” approach, that looks at what each individual pet needs to be protected. This considers diet, lifestyle, location, age, health status, and the health of people in the household.

After completing a risk assessment, we recommend prevention options based on genuine need, supporting more targeted and sustainable parasite control rather than routine blanket treatment.

The Evidence Behind Our Sustainability Journey

The background behind our sustainability journey is largely from an increase of information from scientific studies that have been done in the past 10 years. These studies have revealed effects which some of us suspected, but never before had the evidence for. Most of the information from these studies is now available to the public.

Recent studies have shown high concentrations of the active ingredients found in parasiticides (flea/tick products), such as imidacloprid (Advocate, Advantage, Seresto collars), and fipronil (FRONTLINE), in UK waterways (Perkins et al., 2021). These substances pose a significant threat to life in our rivers and aquatic ecosystems.

Wastewater is the likely route for contamination, mainly originating from household activities like bathing treated pets, washing contaminated items, and owner handwashing. Research also indicates that residues from spot-on parasiticides are still detectable on patients, pet owners’ hands and in-contact bedding for at least four weeks after application (Perkins et al., 2024). Direct transfer into the environment via dogs swimming in bodies of water is also possible (Yoder et al., 2024; Perkins et al., 2025).

Concerns potentially extend to human health, with studies correlating chronic exposure to fipronil metabolites with hypertension and diabetes. The potential link between these compounds and negative human health impacts is being explored (Peng et al., 2024).

Resistance to fipronil (FRONTLINE) has been reported for ticks affecting dogs in a number of countries in recent years. Veterinary practitioners have long reported anecdotal cases of fipronil resistance in fleas, citing frequent treatment failures. Research has confirmed this high rate of treatment failure, with Cooper et al. (2020) finding that 61.9% of cats and 44.9% of dogs treated with fipronil-based products still had fleas.

Our Current Approach to Sustainable Pet Care

From the present evidence of the harmful effects of certain spot-on flea and tick treatments, we now only stock oral (tablet) flea and tick treatments for dogs and prefer oral treatments for cats.

We recommend pet owners regularly check their pets for signs of fleas and ticks, and would be more than happy to help you use the most effective methods for checking, helping to reduce unnecessary chemical exposure where possible.

We strongly encourage all dog faeces to be removed from the general environment and disposed of responsibly to prevent negative effects on wildlife, biodiversity and local ecosystems.

Protecting Biodiversity and the Wider Environment

Sadly, the UK is the 12th worst (out of 250 countries) for biodiversity, meaning the variety of species that exist has drastically reduced. We’ve lost 50% of all species in a fairly recent space of time.

In nature, everything is connected, and if one species declines, we all suffer. As a sustainable and environmentally conscious veterinary clinic, we do not want to contribute to this loss.

One way we can help reduce environmental harm is by not using routine spot-on flea and tick treatments, particularly those containing the two most widely recognised toxic ingredients, fipronil (FRONTLINE) and imidacloprid. By moving away from blanket spot-on applications and towards more targeted, risk-based parasite control, we are supporting greener and more environmentally responsible pet care choices.

We look forward to sharing further progress in our sustainability journey with you – giving us pride, and giving us hope for a healthier future and a happier planet.