Key points
- 32 million bees have died in Kirovohrad region – half of the apiaries of 14 beekeepers.
- The bee death started on the night of June 10 and is still ongoing.
- The cause is the treatment of a pea field with insecticide during flowering, three kilometers from Bohdanivka.
- Natalia Chernysh lost about 10 million bees (damage – up to one million hryvnias), Volodymyr Bohun – all his bees.
- The agricultural firm acknowledges guilt, and possible compensation is being discussed.
- The police are conducting a check under Article 247 of the Criminal Code.
In the villages of Bohdanivka and Kucherivka, Kirovohrad region, 32 million bees have died – half of the 800 bee colonies belonging to 14 beekeepers. Beekeepers told Suspilne about this.
The bee death started on the night of June 10 and is still ongoing. The bees are dying gradually: according to the beekeepers, the losses initially reached about 30%, and after a week – already half of the apiaries.
Beekeeper Natalia Chernysh from Bohdanivka lost about 10 million bees and estimates the damage at one million hryvnias – she has been engaged in beekeeping for 15 years and says that such a bee death has never happened before.
Beekeeper Volodymyr Bohun was left without all his bees and cannot send samples for examination to Kyiv due to the cost – 26 thousand hryvnias.
The bee death is linked to the treatment of a neighboring pea field with insecticide – a chemical preparation for destroying insect pests.
Bees in convulsions. That is, this poison affects the nervous system. We started to find out the reason. We found out that they were treating the peas. And the agronomist himself told us that they were treating it on the night of June 9-10.
– beekeeper Natalia Chernysh.
Associate Professor of the Central Ukrainian Technical University, ecologist Mykola Kovalov inspected the field and found signs of chemical burns on plants. According to him, spraying during flowering is lethal to pollinating insects.
Locally, we can see chlorosis on the leaves of the grass. These are such burned areas. Therefore, the dose was likely lethal. The bee is not just an element of the ecosystem, everything is connected. That is, the bee lies dead after the action of the insecticide. It was eaten by the next element of the food chain, so it spreads completely to the ecosystem. This includes rodents, hedgehogs, that is, mammals, and birds. So, it is practically impossible to assess the extent to which the ecosystem itself has suffered at the moment.
– ecologist Mykola Kovalov.
Resident of Bohdanivka Oksana Strutinska also said that near the treated field, they were mowing grass for a cow. The animal ate it, got sick, and died.
It already refused to eat grass, water, did not eat. There were signs of bloating. It started crying loudly. It just fell and we see that the cow… Well, the cow is dying, in short. Now the cow is worth, I don’t know, 50-60 thousand hryvnias. Plus, I had 500 hryvnias per day on it.
– resident of Bohdanivka Oksana Strutinska.
The Subotiv community created a commission to investigate. According to its findings, the cause of the bee death was the treatment of the pea field during flowering, three kilometers from Bohdanivka – this was confirmed by the chief agronomist of the agricultural enterprise. The enterprise acknowledges guilt, and the manager agreed to meet with beekeepers to discuss possible compensation.
If there is no compensation, the beekeepers will appeal to the court, said beekeeper Natalia Chernysh.
Fourteen beekeepers have filed statements about the bee death to the police – an investigation is underway under Article 247 of the Criminal Code. The State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection took samples of dead bees and plants for laboratory examination.
In case of proven guilt and if poisonous substances are found – both in plants and in dead bees, the issue of recovering the property damage caused by this agricultural firm will be resolved in court.
– Head of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine Ruslan Kraynosvit.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Taras Vysotsky noted that the Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy is considering a bill to strengthen responsibility for violating the rules for the use of agrochemicals.
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