Now that Brexit is over and Britain is out of the European Union, British bees need your help no matter where you live. This is a post-Brexit petition to protect bees from the reintroduction of neonicotinoid pesticides that are lethal to bees.
Britain has left the EU, where the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam (TMX) is banned because it is deadly to bees and other insect pollinators. It affects the central nervous system, where it causes paralysis and death. It is toxic to rivers, lakes and ground water.
The British government can now reinstate use of this deadly pesticide on crops. Please read and sign this petition here for the British bees.
Imagine using a chemical spray to purportedly protect plants from insects. This spray then harms and kills the very insects that the plant needs to pollinate it and therefore to survive. It would only be a matter of time until this would affect the human food chain and cause food shortages.
The petition to “stop the UK from… using pesticides” has blown up in a social media storm.
These pesticides don’t just kill insects, they are systemic pesticides. This means the poison travels through the entire plant and is in the pollen and nectar as well, so pollinators cannot avoid being poisoned and killed.
This unrelated 1:28-minute video by Pesticide Action Network UK explains how neonicotinoids work and the damage they do:
According to The Canary, here are a few of the things that exposure to this deadly pesticide will do to bees: inability to walk or climb, impaired motor function, abnormal behavior, falling more often, difficulty rising and therefore staying closer to the lower parts of plants. Bees are unable to pollinate efficiently when they have been exposed to this pesticide.
A study in Hungary revealed that the number of neonic-exposed worker bees fell by 24%. This is a drastic reduction in numbers and would eventually impact human food supplies.
Britain voted to ban the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam when it was in the European Union, so why would it lift that ban?
There was an escape clause that relates to ‘emergency authorization’ which the British government is putting to use. On January 8, 2021 the British government stated that after careful consideration, they decided to grant an emergency authorization application to allow use of a product that contains the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam for treating sugar beet seed in 2021, and that this is in recognition of the potential danger posed to the crop in 2021 from beet yellows virus.
The government says the risk to bees will be “acceptably low,” but the Guardian does not agree, and has accused the government of ‘breaking its promise’ over the 2018 ban, which seems not to be entirely true. Further, the Guardian claims this was done following lobbying by the National Farmers Union (NFU).
According to Matt Shardlow, chief executive of the invertebrate conservation group Buglife, nothing has changed scientifically since the 2018 decision to ban neonics on sugar beets. He considers this move to be “environmentally regressive” and it will harm the environment. He further noted that no action is proposed to prevent rivers becoming polluted with the insecticides applied to sugar beet. Allowing these insecticides to harm the British bee population can have long term, serious consequences for all.
Bees are our passion and purpose here at Bee Mission, so we are making this petition available here for all those that want to sign it to stop the government from allowing farmers to use the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam.
Support British bees, they need your help!
Over 100,000 people have already signed this petition, but they need at least 150,000 signatures, so every signature counts!
If you've been trying to figure out how to save the bees, signing this petition is one of the easiest ways to make a difference for the beloved bees.