Why are we taking the Government to court?

It allowed seeds treated with two neonicotinoid pesticides – currently banned by the EU – to be planted in parts of England this autumn.

Over half a million people have signed petitions against the decision by Secretary of State Liz Truss, so it has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.

Follow the rules

To non-lawyers (like me) understanding the difference between a Government decision being wrong for the environment and flying in the face of the scientific evidence (as this one is), and actually being unlawful, is difficult.

A decision can be unwise and irresponsible but perfectly lawful. In this case we believe it is both wrong and unlawful.

At the core of our legal case is our belief that the Government has not followed the rules set out by European law for granting an emergency authorisation of a pesticide.

This requires that it should be in response to an emergency, that it should be limited and controlled and that it couldn’t have been dealt with by any other reasonable means.

We also believe that the Government’s action goes against a European Directive which obliges it to pursue a practice known as Integrated Pest Management – prioritising non-chemical ways to control pests and minimising the use of pesticides at every opportunity.

We first filed our case with the High Court in July.

The process is expensive and complicated but thanks to the generosity of Friends of the Earth supporters, we have the extraordinary asset of a small, but very brilliant, legal team.

We’ve spent much of the summer and early autumn poring over a pile of documents and official advice to ministers, in order to build our case. Next week a judge will decide whether we have crossed the first hurdle and have permission to challenge the decision in a full hearing.

Emergency authorisation: bee-harming pesticides are back

An application for emergency use of a restricted neonicotinoid was submitted last year by pesticide giant Syngenta – but subsequently withdrawn.

The National Farmers’ Union has made it clear that we can expect to see further applications for neonicotinoid use next year, so we believe our legal case is not an academic or point-scoring one.

This is especially important because the neonicotinoids in question are actually subject to Europe-wide restrictions, as they were found to pose a “high acute risk” to honeybees.

Now for the science bit

The importance of this case is underlined by the almost weekly arrival of new research demonstrating the danger posed by these chemicals.

Most recently a study found that wildflowers surrounding neonic-treated fields can contain dangerous levels of the pesticide.

At the same time, claims by some that there would be widespread national crop losses without neonicotinoids have proved to be unfounded. This year’s oilseed harvest has been a good one – the same average yield as last year, and above the 10-year average.

That doesn’t mean there have been no crop losses due to pests, but bee-friendly farming techniques – such as planting companion crops to encourage beneficial insects that prey on the pests – exist to maximise the chances of a successful crop without neonics.

We’ll have our fingers crossed next week that our careful legal arguments are accepted and we get permission to move to a full hearing at the High Court.

But these things are never certain and either way, the fight to ensure our fields and gardens are safe for bees to thrive will continue.

Take bee-friendly action now

Dave Timms, Bee Cause campaigner

28th October 2015.