Britain’s membership of the EU has been good for bugs, bringing strong wildlife legislation, international cooperation and environmental improvements that have benefited invertebrates across the land, seas and freshwaters of the UK and the EU.
Buglife, the only charity in the EU dedicated to the conservation of all invertebrates, from bees to snails, has concluded that Brexit would pose a significant risk to the conservation of wildlife and hence could jeopardise our charitable objectives. Therefore we are taking a position that while there remain uncertainties, on balance, bugs across the EU would be better served by the UK remaining part of the EU.
“We recognise that there are many factors for people to consider when deciding how to vote in June, but it may help them to know that the EU has benefited bugs in many ways and that in our expert opinion continuing to work closely with other countries in the EU to fix environmental problems should bring more benefits to the continent’s wildlife than the UK going it alone. Buglife is not telling people how they should vote in the referendum, but ensuring that they better able to take a fully informed decision.” said Matt Shardlow, Buglife CEO.
Buglife has produced the following more detailed analyses:
1) A risk assessment setting out the potential risks and benefits to bugs from BREXIT.
2) A blog from the CEO that give a perspective on his experience of conserving bugs in the UK and EU.
3) An assessment of Buglife’s compliance with Charity Commission and OSCR guidance on the EU referendum.
