GM weed-killing crops could decimate bird population

Independent scientific research have voiced fears that genetically-modified (GM) crops could accelerate the decline of some of Britain's most popular songbirds.

The report by the government GM Science Review Panel backs warnings from the RSPB that the cultivation of GM crops, and particularly their management with broad-spectrum weed killers, will deprive farmland birds of essential food.

Birds at risk include the skylark, yellowhammer, tree sparrow and corn bunting, whose numbers have declined by up to 95% in the past 25 years.

The powerful weed killers used with some GM crops will kill non-crop plants before they produce the seeds on which many birds depend during the winter, according to the RSPB. They will also kill foliage that attracts insects – insects are the main food source for most nestling birds in spring and summer.

The report says: "We do not yet have sufficient evidence to predict what the long-term impacts of GM herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops would be on weed populations and the wildlife that depends on weeds for food. Above all other concerns, this poses perhaps the most serious potential harm arising from these particular crops."

Dr Mark Avery, director of conservation at the RSPB and member of the panel, said: "The RSPB has been warning for five years that the commercial release of GMHT crops could make a bad situation for farmland wildlife even worse. This report shows that eminent scientists, as well as environmental organisations, fear GM cultivation will adversely affect wildlife."

The RSPB says that the government must await the results of trials on four GM crops – maize, oilseed rape, sugar beet and fodder beet – before deciding whether to allow these GM crops to be grown commercially.

The first results of these trials are due this autumn and the last set of findings will be published next spring.

(GMcG)