The Senate voted on Thursday April 11 for the establishment of a national plan to combat the proliferation of the Asian hornet, with a compensation framework for affected operators. It is estimated that this predator, which has proliferated for 20 years in France, is responsible for 20% of mortality in hives.
Protecting beekeepers, bees and public health in the face of the “calamity” of the Asian hornet: the Senate voted Thursday for the establishment of a national plan to combat the proliferation of this predator, with a compensation framework for affected operators. The text of Senator Michel Masset (RDSE group composed of radicals and left-wing radicals), supported by the government and adopted unanimously, intends to “organize the fight and prevention against this species” using a “strategy nationally declined at the departmental scale”, detailed its author.
The Asian hornet, which appeared 20 years ago in France and which has spread widely since, is responsible for around 20% of mortality in apiaries according to estimates, and represents an annual loss of 12 million euros for the beekeeping industry. This species is “a beekeeping disaster, a scourge for biodiversity and a risk factor that is insufficiently taken into account”, worried rapporteur Jean-Yves Roux (RDSE group).
Concretely, the text provides for the creation of a national control plan bringing together the State, scientists and local stakeholders, including in particular indicators for monitoring the proliferation of this species. It also gives prefects the task of defining, locally, the procedures for reporting the appearance of nests, then their destruction.
“This bill is a fundamental element of our ability to reduce the impact of this invasive exotic species”, appreciated the Secretary of State for Biodiversity Hervé Berville, in favor of these measures to fight against a predator which, according to him, represents “a triple threat, for the beekeeping industry, for the environment and of course, for public health”. A compensation framework was also approved by the minister, even if the left regretted that it only concerns “beekeepers” who have suffered economic damage caused by the Asian hornet, and not all apiaries.