Westminster repeats its opposition to EU’s pesticide ban

The UK government yesterday confirmed its previously expressed view that the EU ban on certain neonicotinoid pesticides was not justified by the evidence and that any such actions should be led by science.

The ban, which will come into force in December, follows concerns that bee numbers were being affected by the pesticides, which are largely used as seed treatments. Westminster said that more should be done to understand and tackle the issues facing pollinators, but that action must be led by science.

English NFU horticulture adviser Dr Chris Hartfield called the UK government’s views a “very balanced and sensible reaction” to the European Commission’s Environmental Audit committee report. “Pollinators are essential for maintaining our biodiversity and pollinating many agricultural and horticultural crops,” he said. “To ensure they are rightly protected from whatever damaging challenges they face, it is essential that our actions are led by the science.

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“The good news we should be celebrating is that declines in bumble bee biodiversity in Britain, have slowed since 1990, and for other wild bees biodiversity has increased significantly in recent decades.”

Scottish Union deputy policy director Andrew Bauer said that, while there was still a review to take place on the decision, the union had hoped that further field trials would take place before the decision was taken.