Neonics: Pesticide rules should be overhauled after damning study

It is time for the Government to think again about which side of the fence it wants to stand on

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There comes a time when emerging scientific evidence builds a strong enough case to warrant a change in policy. We may have reached that point now with the controversial group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids – or “neonics” – which have been repeatedly linked, in experiment after experiment, with deleterious impacts on bees, bumblebees and other pollinating insects which collectively ensure the production of some £230bn-worth of crops worldwide.

The Government’s view on neonics has been that of the traditional fence-sitter. There is no evidence, it says, that these substances are any more harmful than other pesticides and, until such evidence is found, the companies that sell them should be allowed to do so. Indeed, this summer the Government decided to lift an EU-wide moratorium on neonics, at least temporarily in certain parts of the country, after pressure from the National Farmers Union to protect England’s oilseed rape crop.

Now, yet another study published in a leading peer-reviewed journal by independent university scientists has shown that neonicotinoids may not be as benign as the pesticide’s manufacturers insist. This time, the researchers demonstrated that bumblebees exposed to “field-realistic” levels of the chemicals become far less capable when it comes to pollinating apple trees.

This is the first study to show the impact on the pollinating ability of bumblebees. Other studies have demonstrated “sublethal effects” on the foraging behaviour, reproductive success and homing ability of bees.

Of course farmers need to protect their crops against damaging insect pests. But there comes a time when they need to ask whether or not the pesticide they are using is unwittingly having a negative impact on overall crop production. What is the point of protecting a fruit crop with neonics if the same pesticide is hampering the ability of bees to pollinate the trees? It is time for the Government to think again about which side of the fence it wants to stand on.