“A health, environmental and economic danger”, justifies Michel Masset, senator from Lot-et-Garonne where the Asian hornet is particularly ferocious. It destroys up to half of the hives there each year.
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“20, 40 or even 50% of hives are destroyed every year by the Asian hornet” in Lot-et-Garonne, exposed Friday April 12 on franceinfo Michel Masset, RDSE senator (made up of radicals and left-wing radicals), initiator of the text voted by the Senate which proposes a national plan to fight against the Asian hornet.
Arriving by accident in Lot-et-Garonne in 2004, “several thousand nests” are present in the department, he emphasizes. The damage is significant. “Which of course represents a very significant sum for beekeepers”he explained.
The presence of the Asian hornet on the national territory is first and foremost a “health danger”, but also an environmental danger: “The hornet disrupts ecosystems by attacking pollinating bees. The entire food chain is therefore impacted,” he continues. And then, it’s also “an economic danger, of course, since beekeepers are strongly impacted”.
A loss of 12 million per year
The national plan, voted unanimously by senators, provides compensation for beekeepers with at least 50 hives. The damage caused by the Asian hornet costs 12 million euros per year in France: “The losses are very heavy. There is no insurance,” explained Michel Masset. A fund will be created. The compensation criteria will be clarified during the next debates in the National Assembly.
The text voted by the Senate also provides for the obligation for individuals to report any hornet nest. “We need a national plan that brings together all the players”town halls, prefectures or intermunicipalities. “This reporting is very important, particularly near homes, near places open to the public. It was a strong measure of this text,” he concluded.