Rosselkhoznadzor probes mass bee death near Chelyabinsk

After the publication by 74.RU on the mass death of bees in the Argayashsky District (Chelyabinsk Oblast), Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) reported that it had launched an investigation. Specialists went to the fields where treatment was presumably carried out. They took samples of rapeseed and soil to test for pesticides and agrochemicals.

«The directorate conducted on-site inspections of the presumed treatment sites of land plots, collected samples of plant mass (rapeseed) and soil for residual amounts of pesticides and agrochemicals, and the collected samples were sent to the Chelyabinsk branch of FBGU «VNIIZZh» (Federal State Budgetary Institution «All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Animal Protection») for laboratory tests,» the agency stated.

After receiving the test results, Rosselkhoznadzor will determine whether there are grounds for taking measures. The agency clarified that under the law, farmers were required to notify beekeepers in advance of field treatments.

«The dissemination of information on the use of pesticides is ensured through the mass media (radio, printed media, electronic and other means of communication) by the persons who planned the use of pesticides, no earlier than ten days and no later than five days before their application,» the supervisory authority added.

One of the sources for notification is the Beekeeper’s Portal on the FSIS Saturn (Federal State Information System Saturn), which is an interactive map of pesticide application sites. The web portal contains an interactive map where you can find out about planned treatments with pesticides and agrochemicals in real time. To do this, you need to select the desired district or locality or use the filter block, for example “application period”, “work status”, “hazard class for humans”, “hazard class for bees”. Any user can get this information; registration on the portal is not required.

Earlier, residents of the Argayashsky District reported a mass death of bees. According to them, more than 100 bee colonies suffered — about five million individuals. The owners of the hives believe that the cause could be chemicals used by farmers to treat crops on agricultural fields. Beekeepers have already contacted Rosselkhoznadzor and the police to seek compensation for damages.