With neonicotinoid pesticide ban, France’s birds make a tentative recovery - study

<p>Analysis shows small hike in populations of insect-eating species after 2018 ruling, but full recovery may take decades</p><p>Insect-eating bird populations in France appear to be making a tentative recovery after a ban on bee-harming pesticides, according to the first study to examine how wildlife is returning in Europe.</p><p>Neonicotinoids are the world’s most common class of insecticides, widely used in agriculture and for flea control in pets. By 2022, four years after the European Union <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/27/eu-agrees-total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides">banned neonicotinoid use in fields</a>, researchers observed that France’s population of insect-eating birds had increased by 2%-3%. These included blackbirds, blackcaps and chaffinches, which feed on insects as adults and as chicks.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/17/france-wildlife-insect-bird-numbers-rise-neonicotinoid-pesticide-ban-aoe">Continue reading...</a>