Greenpeace has added its voice to those calling for a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, fearing the chemicals damage bees.
The Greenpeace study, Bees in Decline, highlights the importance of healthy bee populations and says the removal of certain pesticides would be the ‘first step’ to protect populations and safeguard pollination value.
But Greenpeace accepts that the dramatic overall global decline in bee populations is the result of multiple factors such as diseases and parasites, climate change, with industrial agricultural practices playing a role.
It blames neonicotinoids for ‘poisoning’ bees and other pesticides for their physiological effects, perturbation of the foraging pattern, interference with feeding behaviour and impacts on learning processes.
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