In an unpublished opinion last week, the California Court of Appeal dismissed appeals of a 2021 decision tossing out California’s approval of sulfoxaflor. This makes the lower court’s judgment the final word in the case and upholds commercial beekeepers’ winning challenge against the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s decision to approve the pollinator-killing insecticide sulfoxaflor for use in California.
Sulfoxaflor is an insecticide linked to nationwide honey bee die-offs and for killing other pollinators, including the seriously imperiled monarch butterfly that migrates through California every year.
“This decision from the Court of Appeal ensures pollinators will not suffer exposure to yet another toxic systemic insecticide in California,” said Steve Ellis, president of Pollinator Stewardship Council. “Since almost 90 percent of all U.S. honey bee colonies spend at least some portion of the year in California, what happens in California is especially important for the beekeepers.”
“The Court of Appeals stood up for food security, the economy and the beekeepers by maintaining a good decision: dangerous pesticides like sulfoxaflor do more harm than good and shouldn’t be sold in California,” said Greg Loarie, Earthjustice attorney. “Research shows that pesticides like sulfoxaflor are a big contributor to massive pollinator die-offs over the last few years. Keeping a bee-killing pesticide out of California ensures the long term health of our food supply and pollinators.”
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