Bee-harming pesticide use given emergency authorization in UK

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The UK government has given emergency authorization for the use of a banned pesticide because of the harm it can cause bees. The permission to use a neonicotinoid on sugar beet seeds has been given to protect the crop from a particularly damaging virus that is spread by aphids. 

The authorization was given despite the independent panel of pesticide experts' advice. The campaign group Friends of the Earth labeled the move "incredibly brazen." However, Michael Sly, chairman of the NFU Sugar board, welcomed the decision, saying he was "relieved".

"The British sugar beet crop continues to be threatened by virus yellows disease, which in recent years has caused crop losses of up to 80%. The homegrown sugar industry is working hard to find viable, long-term solutions to this disease," he said.

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) stated that strict conditions would be in place and that the pesticide, thiamethoxam seed treatment, could only be used if independent modeling predicted a yellow virus incidence of 63% or higher.

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If that threshold is met and the pesticide used, other conditions will minimize risks to the environment, it said. The overall ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides remains in place.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said the emergency authorization was taken after "careful consideration" and as "a necessary measure to protect the industry".

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the independent UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP), and DEFRA's own Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, all provided input into the decision. However, the ECP was not in favor of the authorization, saying "In light of the risk assessment conducted, a reduction in survival of honey bees and impacts on homing flight ability could occur."

The HSE mentioned the risks posed to bees foraging on the pollen and nectar from flowering crops planted in fields after the impact of treated sugar beet. Professor Henderson, however, said that could be dealt with by insisting on a 32-month minimum period before planting a flowering crop. 

In his advice, he also said, "There is clear and abundant evidence that these neonicotinoids are harmful to species other than those they are intended to control, and particularly to pollinators, including bees."

In granting authorization, the Minister conceded that there was still "a degree of uncertainty in relation to the risks to bees."

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Despite the pesticide not being approved, this is the third year the government has given emergency authorization. 

Sandra Bell, of Friends of the Earth, described the decision as "incredibly brazen", adding that "the government has gone directly against the advice of its own scientific advisors with potentially devastating consequences for bees and other vital pollinators."

"The health of us all and the planet depends on their survival. The government must fulfill its duty to protect wildlife and keep pesticides off our crops for good."

The decision comes days after the Court of Justice of the European Union said that EU member states can't offer exemptions to the bloc's ban on crop seeds treated with neonicotinoids.