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British Beekeepers' Association: Stop Taking Money from Pesticide Producers
  1. Signatures
    1,554 out of 2,500
    Petitioning
    1. President/British Beekeepers' Association (+ 3 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • President/British Beekeepers' Association (Martin Smith)
      • Chairman/British Beekeepers' Association (Brian Ripley)
      • Vice-Chairman/British Beekeepers' Association (David Atson)
      • Press Officer/British Beekeepers' Association (Christine Gray)
  2. Created By
    Sarah Parsons
    Silver Spring, MD

British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA), a prominent U.K. charity made up of more than 19,000 members, is in bed with pesticide producers. Unbeknownst to most BBKA members, the association's executive accepted endorsement money from the makers of four pesticides considered deadly to honeybees.

The BBKA first started taking endorsement money from Bayer, BASF, Syngenta, and Belchim back in 2001 to the tune of more than $27,000 a year. BBKA took the dough, and in return, agrochemical companies got to plaster the BBKA logo on their synthetic pyrethoids, some of the most potent insect-killing chemicals on the market. BBKA even went so far as to refer to these pesticides as "bee safe" and "bee friendly."

Research shows that these pesticides are actually quite deadly to honeybees. According to The Independent, synthetic pyrethoids are some of the most toxic pesticides around, especially when it comes to honeybee health.

While the BBKA recently announced that it would end its endorsement of these pesticides, the association's president, Martin Smith, left the door open for similar partnerships in the future.

It's time for the BBKA to start protecting honeybees--not the companies that kill them. Sign our petition asking the BBKA to end all current and future relationships with agrochemical and related companies.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Sever All Ties with Agrochemical Companies

Greetings,

Thank you for ending British Beekeepers' Association's endorsements of pesticides from Bayer, BASF, Syngenta, and Belchim. However, this move does not go far enough, and we ask that you end all current and future relationships with agrochemical and related companies.

Products like pesticides are extremely toxic to honeybees. Therefore, it's a huge conflict of interest for BBKA to support companies like Bayer and BASF, whether through endorsements or any other kind of partnership. As Philip Chandler, a Devon beekeeper, said, "It is the equivalent of a cancer research charity being controlled by a tobacco company."

Please support honeybees--not the companies that kill them. Please publicly and immediately end all BBKA's current and future relationships with agrochemical and associated companies.

[Your name]