The Scottish Wildlife Trust has today submitted evidence to Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee on the devastating effects of neurotoxic chemicals on our pollinating insects, including honeybees and bumblebees. The Trust has called on the Environmental Audit Committee to hold Defra to account over its repeated stance that the chemicals, called neonicotinoids, are safe to use on outdoor crops. This view goes against increasing evidence showing that they can damage honeybee and bumblebee health.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s evidence is part of its campaign against neonicotinoids. The Trust has already encouraged over 600 people to write to the Scottish Environment Secretary, calling on him to ban their use in Scotland.

Scottish Wildlife Trust Head of Policy, Dr Maggie Keegan said:

“New research is emerging all the time which shows that these chemicals damage honeybees and bumblebees. We are calling on the Environmental Audit Committee to ask Defra why it still believes they are safe to use on crops, when all the evidence shows that they pose a substantial risk to pollinators which are worth an estimated £430 million to the UK economy. But the risks don’t stop there, any insecticide that drastically reduces pollinator numbers will reduce biodiversity and have effects beyond the agricultural sector, which will ultimately affect the health and function of entire ecosystems.”

Click here for more on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s 'save the bees' campaign.