pesticides partly responsible for declining bird populations

In Seine-et-Marne, in the fields of alfalfa and wheat, few birds on the horizon. “A large part of the birds that we should normally find in an agricultural plain are really missing here”, deplores Éric Grosso, project manager for the League for the Protection of Birds. Their decline is largely due to the intensification of agriculture. Besides “massive use of pesticides”the latter also cites the extension of the plots and the disappearance of the hedges.

A quarter of birds have disappeared in Europe

Pesticides and fertilizers have decimated the insects, the bird’s pantry. According to a CNRS study, one in four birds has disappeared in Europe, including 18% of forest birds, 28% of birds in urban areas, and 57% of birds in agricultural areas. The FNSEA, the leading union, regrets the impact of the use of pesticides on bird populations, but believes that for many crops, it is impossible to do without them. Birds are also threatened by urbanization and global warming.