British bees could soon be getting a break as legislators aim to ban a popular type of pesticide known as neonicotinoids.
However, agricultural lobbyists may be carving out an exception for a popular neonicotinoid, Cruiser SB, the Guardian said.
What's happening?
According to the report, legislators have forged a path to banning three neonicotinoids: clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. Brexit allowed British farmers to dodge a ban on these pesticides from the European Union.
The U.K.'s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has approved emergency allowances for the use of thiamethoxam every year since 2021, though that consistency has earned it an investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection, per the Guardian.
"These neurotoxins persist in soils for years, and they are now known to be found in hedgerow plants, streams and ponds," explained ecologist Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the University of Sussex, in a response to a news article posted on a university web page.
Goulson continued: "One teaspoon is enough to deliver a lethal dose to 1.25 billion honeybees (it would kill half of them, and leave the others feeling very unwell). But they do not just pose a threat to bees; any insect living on farmland or in streams that flow from farmland, and any organisms that depend on insects for food (e.g. many birds and fish) are likely to be affected."
Why are pollinators important?
U.K. pollinator populations have been in steep decline for some time, though that trend has also been visible worldwide. Bees are vitally important to the growth of crops, as they facilitate seed production in plants. Without pollinators, human food supplies are in deep danger.
"An end to the previous government's annual pantomime of granting the 'emergency' use of these deeply harmful pesticides is long overdue," said Paul de Zylva, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, per the Guardian.
"But we're not out of the woods yet — the government must follow through by fully committing to a complete ban come January. And it must go even further still, by scrapping the current, weak national pesticides action plan and instead produce a credible version."
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All the time 😨 "There should be no place in this country for pesticides that poison our bees, period," added Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK's policy director. "So it's good to see ministers confirming their commitment to a complete ban on these bee-killing chemicals, but now they should waste no time in bringing it into effect."
What's being done about pollinator loss?
The U.K. plans to publish a National Action Plan, which will dictate how pesticides can be used.
"A healthy environment is vital to our food and economic security. Protecting bees by stopping the use of damaging neonicotinoids is an important step in supporting the long-term health of our environment and waterways, and our farming sector," Environment Minister Emma Hardy said in a statement in December when the ban moved forward.
Other organizations, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council in the U.S., are running public awareness campaigns about neonics at large and their public health concerns, including a major NRDC petition, and using legal actions to try to get regulations on companies such as Bayer who are profiting from these insecticides.
Beyond petitions and advocacy, you can support pollinators by making your yard a more friendly place for them. In addition to forgoing chemical treatments as much as possible, choosing native flowering plants for your garden can help combat the habitat loss that is also endangering these crucial creatures.
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