Mass death of animals in the Khmelnytskyi region

Problems

• In the Khmelnytskyi region marked the mass death of animals

  The Khmelnytskyi region has discovered a new ecological hot spot. It all started in April 2019, when hunters and residents of the village of Zhvanchik found bodies of badgers, dogs, and foxes in the forest. Concerned residents of Zhvanchik assured that game had never died like this in these parts. 
  
  In particular, the hunting grounds of the region are inhabited by roe deer, boars, deer, elks, hares, muskrats, squirrels, martens, ferrets, beavers, badgers, foxes, ducks, waders, quail, waterfowl, great minks, partridges, swans, geese, and pheasants.
  
  Despite this diversity of animals, the number of animals in the hunting grounds of the region continues to decline.
  
  Among other things, beekeepers have also noted the dramatic death of bees due to the pollination of fields with pesticides. Private entrepreneurs who own these fields treat the areas against rodents, disregarding the impact of pesticides on the surrounding wildlife.
  
  Pesticides negatively affect the environment and ecosystems by reducing biodiversity. This is primarily due to the destruction of weeds and insects, which are important elements in the food chain. In addition, pesticides hurt human health through direct action and indirectly through the accumulation of residues in agricultural products and drinking water.
  
  The use of pesticides leads to the extinction of plant-pollinating species, including through the mechanism of disrupting the bee colony. This is precisely what happened in the Khmelnytskyi region. Applying pesticides to crops during flowering resulted in the death of bees. The worker bees were poisoned by chemicals while pollinating the plants and simply disappeared from the hive.  
  
  Methods that reduce the need for pesticides, such as organic farming and natural methods of plant protection, are now being studied nationally and internationally. Dozens of concerned beekeepers, hunters, and gamekeepers are seeking to draw attention to the treatment of fields with pesticides. They are convinced that the poison used against rodents destroys forest dwellers. Therefore, beekeepers and hunters urge agribusinesses to use fertilizers that are safe for nature.
  
  Wildlife and forest land protection organizations warn that the use of pesticides can lead to negative effects such as:
  
  - decreased biological productivity;
  - disruption of soil microbiocenoses;
  - accumulation of pesticide residues and their derivatives in surface water sources and groundwater
  - impeding the restoration of fertility;
  - reduction of the nutritional value of agricultural products, etc.
  
  That is why the recently formed ecological hotspot in the village of Zhvanchik in the Khmelnytskyi region cannot be left unattended. Wild animals require protection, which can be done by responding quickly to private entrepreneurs' negligent handling of chemicals and pesticides.