Commenting on news that the Government plans to accelerate studies looking at the impacts of certain pesticides on bees, Friends of the Earth’s Nature Campaigner Paul de Zylva said:

“Owen Paterson is right to speed up studies on the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on UK bees.

“The Government admits that not enough is known about the impact of these chemicals on wild bee populations, so we don’t know whether or not they are safe.

“Neonicotinoids should be withdrawn from sale until their impact on bees has been properly assessed – we can’t afford to gamble with the future of these important pollinators.

“UK ash trees are paying a heavy price for Government indecision – Mr Paterson must end the dithering over action on bees.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Friends of the Earth research, published earlier this year, found it would cost the UK an extra £1.8billion every year to hand-pollinate crops without bees.

2.         In a report for Friends of the Earth bee experts at the University of Reading warned that pesticide use had risen by 6.5% between 2005 and 2010 and that more insecticide treatments tend to be applied to bee pollinated crops.

3.         Earlier this month Defra published its review of neonicotinoid pesticides.  Despite acknowledging that there is evidence of harm to bees and that not enough is known aout the impacts on solitary bees and bumblebees to say that these products are safe the Government decided not to place any restrictions on their use.  

4.         The Government needs to follow the example of other European countries. Italy has had suspensions in place on four neonicotinoids since 2008 and there is good evidence that bee populations are recovering. France has recently banned the use of the neonicotinoid Thiamathoxam due to concerns about its impact on bees. Use of the same chemical in the UK has increased substantially over the past few years.