Petition against use of pollinator-killing pesticide successful

27/01/2025

Emergency authorisation to use Cruiser SB, a pesticide containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, to treat sugar beet seeds in England, will not be granted in 2025.

The use of the product has previously been allowed in order to combat virus yellows, a plant disease, by killing the aphids that carry it, against the advice of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides.

The powerful pesticide is harmful to other insects, not just aphids; small amounts can cause cognitive problems in bees reducing their ability to navigate and reproduce. The product is also long-lasting allowing it to remain in the soil and be washed into wetland systems that provide our drinking water, and where it threatens aquatic insects, including dragonflies.

As a result, the BDS promoted and supported anti-neonicotinoid petitions run by Pesticide Collaboration partners, such as the Wildlife Trust and Greenpeace.

Thank you to all who supported these petitions and helped secure this win for wildlife!

Government press release

Wildlife Trust petition update

Greenpeace petition update

Image: Bee by Dmitry Grigoriev