Posted September 9, 2014
Canadian
beekeepers are suing crop pesticide companies for more than $400 million in
damages, according to a CBC article available here.
Bloomberg also published an article here and
Farmers Weekly here.
A recent blog post on bees and neonicotinoids is available here.
A recent blog post on bees and neonicotinoids is available here.
The class
action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all Canadian beekeepers by Sun Parlor
Honey Ltd. and Munro Honey, the two largest Ontario honey producers, and
alleges that pesticide use resulted in bee colony deaths.
"The
goal is to stop the use of the neonicotinoids to stop the harm to the bees and
the beekeepers," said Paula Lombardi, a lawyer with London,
Ont.-based law firm Siskinds LLP, which is handling the case.
The
alleged losses include weak or dead bees, non-productive queen bees and
colonies, contaminated wax, combs, and hives, reduced honey production and
profits, and other labor and supply costs, according to Farmers
Weekly.
Neonicotinoids
are used as a seed coating in soybean, maize, and oilseed rape crops to resist
crop pests.
Bayer and
Syngenta have stated that the risk to bee health is low when the pesticides are
used according to the guidelines indicated on their labels.
A hearing
date has yet to be set by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, according to Bloomberg.
In 2013,
the European Commission imposed a two-year ban on the “sale and use of neonicotinoid
insecticides containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam for seed
treatment, soil application and use on plants and cereals that are attractive
to bees, except winter cereals.”
For more information on environmental law, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
