It hardly made the news. Relegated to sixth item on Thursday’s 6am BBC news, not even mentioned on the preceding ‘Farming Today’. If it wasn’t for the Guardian putting it onto their frontpage, maybe the BBC wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.
The news that German Scientists had revealed a 75% reduction in flying insects since the 80s was greeted essentially with a shrug.
I’m no scientist but I do know we need insects, that a 75% reduction is beyond serious; and that the most likely culprit is man. It therefore follows that we need to do something about it, …but probably won’t.
The EU has been struggling to comprehensively ban neonicotinoids, against an alliance of Tory MEPs, German industrial giants – Bayer (largest manufacturers of neonicotinoids) and the industrial farming lobby.
I’m proud that the Labour Party manifesto committed a future Labour Government to ban these filthy neonicotinoids. We need to go further though.
Buglife, the conservation organisation committed to invertebrates, put together its own manifesto in 2014 and it still looks credible today.
We do need a comprehensive strategy though and quick. I think the direction will have to come from the EU. The UK’s Tory Government is in a state of collective psychosis and the US has Donald Trump. Insects really matter.
I love hearing your views