Dear MP or Minister

Honey Bee Health at Risk

An Economic and Ecological Disaster in the Making

I am a member of your constituency and am writing in support of the British Beekeepers’ campaign for more funding for Bee Health Research.

I am seriously concerned about the diseases and viruses that are currently affecting our honey bees and the devastating effect it could have on our environment and our diet.

Honey bees don’t just produce honey but play a vital role in pollinating plants for food and other crops, making a substantial contribution of £165million annually to the agricultural economy. Their decline threatens what we eat at every meal.

Honey bees also have an important environmental role, being responsible for pollinating wild plants, which produce seeds and fruits on which birds and wild animals depend.  Their decline threatens to turn our brightly-coloured meadows into grey hinterlands.

I understand that the emergence of Colony Collapse Disorder, (CCD) an unexplained but devastating loss of bees experienced widely in the USA has made beekeepers in the UK fearful of its arrival here, perhaps in another form.  The threats to honey bees and all the benefits they bring have never been greater, yet Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Farming and Rural Affairs has refused to provide additional funds for essential research to take place. 

The BBKA has presented a programme of research to Lord Rooker which has a budget of £8 million over five years, during which time our honey bees will contribute more than £800 million to agriculture.  It seems foolhardy not to find the modest funding required given what we stand to lose if the research needed is not undertaken.  I look forward to your support on this important issue.

Yours sincerely