A silent peril threatens all of Europe
A silent peril threatens all of Europe.
The Asian hornet, an invasive alien species, continues to gain ground. By massively attacking all insects, it weakens our entire ecosystem and directly jeopardizes our biodiversity, our security, and our food future.
A vicious circle that threatens us all.
Massacre of pollinators: An Asian hornet nest devours up to 11 kg of insects per year, primarily targeting our domestic and wild bees, but also a multitude of other insects essential to pollination and the balance of our ecosystems. The disappearance of these sentinels weakens the entire chain of life. See article: the-diet-of-the-Asian-hornet-more-than-11-kg-of-insects-devoured-per-year-by-an-Asian-hornet-nest
Exponential proliferation: A single undestroyed nest can give rise to 5 to 15 new colonies the following year, with a nest density per km² that can reach 20 nests if nothing is done.
And each nest produces between 200 and 500 queens in the fall.
Public and professional safety threatened: The risk of attack is real for our children, our families, people with allergies, and our pets. This danger also directly affects pickers, arborists, and other field workers.
Our food and crops are in danger: Fewer bees and pollinators means less pollination, which means harvests collapse. Furthermore, the Asian hornet attacks ripe or nearly ripe fruit (pears, plums, grapes, apples), rendering them unsaleable and thus increasing losses for professionals. Make no mistake: the day there are no longer enough pollinators for our crops, our food will become an unaffordable luxury.
Weakened local economy: Our beekeepers, farmers, fruit growers, winegrowers, gardeners, pruners, hunters, fishermen, and many others are on the front lines, suffering losses that threaten the sustainability of their businesses.
A public health and environmental emergency.
In the absence of a comprehensive and systematic strategy, citizens are often left to face this scourge alone. A lack of resources or information pushes many people to inaction given the often high cost of intervention.
This is not a private problem! The argument of "unfair competition" against private companies, sometimes used to justify public inaction, is unacceptable in the face of a crisis of this magnitude. Regulating an invasive species that threatens everyone's safety, biodiversity, and our food chain is not a market; it is a collective responsibility.
Letting everyone's safety and the protection of our environment depend on individual budgets is a social injustice and a strategic error that will cost us much more in the future.
Our Request
We therefore call on the federal, Walloon, and Brussels, provincial, and municipal authorities to assume their responsibilities and implement a coordinated, ambitious action plan accessible to all citizens, including:
Financial coverage (complete or heavily subsidized) for the destruction of Asian hornet nests throughout Wallonia and Brussels, including on private property.
Awareness campaigns: large-scale to inform the population of the dangers and the right actions to take. Each municipality must raise awareness among its citizens through the usual channels, and ensure that information and nest discoveries are forwarded to the municipality, which can then dispatch pest control equipment for destruction.
Cooperation is urgently needed.
Increased support: for our beekeepers, farmers, fruit growers, and other affected professionals, who are the true sentinels of our environment.
Inaction today is tomorrow's crisis.
Let's not let the Asian hornet dictate the future of our landscapes, our ecosystems, and our plates.
Let's protect our biodiversity, our bees, our food, and our safety!
Sign the petition, share it widely: let's all take responsibility and change things. Together, we can make a difference!
- The FAB-BBF (Federation of Belgian Beekeepers), the URRW (Royal Union of Walloon Apiaries), the Frupah, the FABW, the FPAL
La FAB-BBF (Fédération des Apiculteurs de Belgique), L'URRW (Union Royale des Ruchers Wallons), La Frupah, La FABW, La FPAL Contact the author of the petition