The Government has once again put bees at risk by permitting the use of the banned pesticide thiamethoxam on sugar beet in England in 2022.
The announcement states that the banned pesticide thiamethoxam will be permitted for use on sugar beet in England in 2022 because of the threat posed by disease from virus yellows, which is transmitted by aphids.
In making this catastrophic decision, ministers went against the explicit advice of their own scientific advisors not to allow the pesticide to be used.
The Wildlife Trusts have issued a joint response with RSPB, Friends of the Earth and Buglife to say that the decision goes against the Government’s green promises and will ultimately lead to the harm of wildlife.
Farmland covers 75% of the UK making it vital in the fight to reverse nature’s decline.
Neonicotinoids were banned for agricultural use in the UK and the EU in 2018 due to their devastating impact on bees. Even minute traces of these toxic chemicals in crop pollen or wildflowers play havoc with bees’ ability to forage and navigate, with catastrophic consequences for the survival of their colony. A recent study showed that even one exposure of a neonicotinoid insecticide had significant impacts on their ability to produce offspring in future years.