The West of England’s buzzing bees are under threat after the Government reversed a ban on bee-killing pesticides.
Dan Norris, Metro Mayor candidate and former Labour Environment minister, has slammed the Government decision to allow the controversial chemicals known as neonicotinoids to be sprayed on fields.
Mr Norris, who as rural affairs minister held national responsibility for pesticide use, accused the Government of U-turning on pollinator protection breaking their guarantee from 2017 to uphold the ban.
Bees and other pollinators are already struggling. Shockingly a third of the UK bee population is thought to have vanished in just a decade. Bee-keepers are raising the alarm that this latest pesticide use could be a death knell for even more precious pollinators.
Dan Norris said:
“With up to three quarters of our crops dependent on bees and other pollinators, we all need our bees to be safe. Protecting biodiversity is a top priority for people right across the West of England, not just in the more rural areas like South Gloucestershire and North East Somerset, but also in our great cities like Bath and Bristol.
Local people don’t want pollinator poisons on our fields. As an environment minister I worked hard to protect bees, that is why I am calling for a Parliamentary vote to stop the Government’s plan to allow bee-killing pesticides to be used again. With spring just around the corner, let’s get our voices buzzing for bees.”