Just received.
Please take the time to read the article and if you agree with the concerns please consider signing the petition (see links below).
Dear Neil & Jol
As chairman and conservation officer of Dorset Bird Club, you may be aware of a study published last week in Nature magazine which identifies neonicitinoids in the food chain as an important cause in the decline of farmland birds. The study is reported in the national press here http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/09/neonicotinoids-farmland-birds
In response to this a government e-petition has been raised asking for a complete ban on these pesticides. It is to be found here http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/67350 So far, the rate at which the petition is being signed is relatively slow - less than 500 to date - and 100,000 signatures are needed before the petition will be considered for parliamentary debate. With a new Environment Secretary taking office this week, now would be an ideal time to raise the issue in Westminster. I would hope that the target could be reached if the petition was widely publicised among bird watchers, and I wonder if you would be willing to promote it on the Dorset Bird Club website.
Yours sincerely
Rory MacKay
