Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury
We were all delighted to hear that the bees had won in the
fight against the use of neonicotinoid chemicals on crops. Unfortunately,
experts have found that just banning these chemicals for a two year trial
throughout the European Union does not go far enough. A study in Holland has
shown that the chemical imidacloprid which is used throughout the world not
only to treat crops but to combat fleas and other pests in cattle, dogs and
cats, is ending up in the water in ditches to such an extent that it could be
used as an effective pesticide in itself. The result of this study is the call
for imidacloprid to be banned worldwide as it is far too dangerous to
dragonflies, mayflies, midges, snails and other water living species to carry
on its use.
This new research has shown that there are 70% fewer
invertebrate species found in water polluted with this chemical than clean
water and far fewer individuals of each species. The knock-on effect of this
is, of course, that swallows and other birds that rely on flying insects for
food, will find it harder to survive. We have already destroyed the habitats of
many of our native birds with the over-use of pesticides on our fields and now
we find a tangible threat to one of our most loved spring visitors.
There are many things that we do when we grow food to feed
an increasing world population and more and more we discover the detrimental
effect of lots of them.
Victoria Nicholls. Transition Deal.
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