NEWS

A government decision to permit the use of banned pesticides linked to declining bee populations is to be challenged in the high court by the environmental charity Friends of the Earth (FOE). The use of three neonicotinoid pesticides is currently illegal under a European Union law, which is due to be reviewed at the end of the year. Last month the UK government decided to make two of the pesticides available for 120 days on about 5% of England’s oil seed rape crop on farms in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. It followed an “emergency application” by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), saying that the product is needed for the autumn season. But FOE said they believe the government’s decision is “unnecessary, unlawful and harmful” and does not meet the criteria set down by the EU for emergency authorisation.

Read More:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/25/government-permission-to-use-banned-pesticides-face-legal-challenge