Brexit: SNP must show strength on bee killing pesticides
The Scottish Greens have demanded the Scottish Government “stand tall” on environmental protections after Brexit, after it emerged the UK Government is to allow farmers to use a bee-killing pesticide.
The EU bans the use of most neonicotinoids, which pose a significant environmental risk, particularly to bees and other pollinators, and this decision comes just a week after the UK has left EU rules.
In a letter to Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell warned the UK Government decision was “regressive and risks disastrous long-term consequences for our environment,” and raised concerns that Scottish Ministers have previously indicated that they would be comfortable with regulatory alignment across the UK.
As revealed by the Ferret, neonicotinoids are already being used in Scotland’s forests and salmon farms.
Commenting, Mark Ruskell said: “We are in a nature emergency in Scotland, with one in nine species at risk. That is why we cannot allow the UK Government’s reckless Brexit to lead to the use of toxic pesticides already banned by the EU.
“The Scottish Government has repeatedly said that environmental standards will not be compromised as a result of Brexit, so this is an early test of that resolve. If England seems destined to return to its former status as ‘the dirty man of Europe’, then Scotland needs to stand tall and maintain its European protections.
“Ministers must rule out the use of these chemicals in Scotland, and commit to fully eradicating their use in the coming years. Not just in agriculture but in fishing and forestry too.”