Eight rivers in England are heavily contaminated with neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) that threaten insects, fish and birds. Two of the rivers, the Waveney between Norfolk and Suffolk, and the Tame in the West Midlands, had an “acute level” of pollution, according to tests conducted by the Environment Agency. Neonics are used by farmers and are known to threaten bees and other crucial pollinators. Although some were banned on 2013, the ban only exists on flowering crops, such as oil seed rape.
