Butterfly Emergency

42,000 take action for butterflies

Wondering where all the butterflies have gone? You're not alone.  

In 2024, we've seen butterfly numbers fall across the UK. With 80% of butterflies having declined since the 1970s and a third of moth numbers having fallen in that same period, the time has come to tell the  Government  enough is enough.

Over 42,000 nature lovers from across the country signed our open letter to Secretary of State for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Steve Reed, asking for urgent action for butterflies. 

Our message to Government

We're calling on the Government to:

1. Declare a nature emergency
2. Implement an immediate and permanent ban on butterfly-harming neonicotinoid pesticides, without exceptions. 

Read our full letter to Steve Reed MP and Defra.

What's next?

Thank you to everyone who stood up for butterflies and signed our open letter. We have now hand delivered your signatures to the Government.

Butterfly Conservation has now received a response to the letter you signed, where Defra state ‘The government will change existing policies to ban the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten vital pollinators like bees and butterflies’. 

Read the full response from Mary Creagh CBE MP and Defra here

But what does this mean for our struggling butterflies and moths?

The Government have still not declared a Nature Emergency, or recognised the urgency posed by the Butterfly Emergency declaration.

Since we first declared a Butterfly Emergency, British Sugar and NFU Sugar have once again asked the Government for approval to use these harmful chemicals next year. We still need The Government to follow up on their own commitments and throw out these applications.  

Our work is not done.

We need to maintain the pressure on Ministers to make the right decision: a decision that will allow our depleted butterfly populations an opportunity to recover. The decision on a complete neonicotinoid ban now sits with the Government, and we expect an update in early 2025.

We know things can be better; for our communities, our landscapes, and the species we share them with. Until then we will keep fighting for a brighter future for nature, together. 

Support our emergency appeal

We urgently need to raise funds to be able to carry out the work we have planned for 2025. As an organisation we are devastated to be looking at making hard choices on which areas of our work may need to stop to ease the financial pressure.

With your help and support we can navigate this turbulent time.

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