A new study from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows just how threatening pesticides are to the world’s endangered species. Malathion and chlorpyrifos, two widely-used pesticides, are likely to harm 97 percent of the 1,700 most endangered plants and animals in the United States. 

But it doesn’t end there -- last year the World Health Organization classified malathion as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. So why is it still being sprayed on our fruits and vegetables here in Australia? 

For too long, our government has allowed chemical companies to register pesticides without proving their safety. With international studies demonstrating the urgency of tightening pesticide regulation, the time is now to call on the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to ban harmful pesticides to protect Australia’s own endangered species. 

The EPA report found that malathion and chlorpyrifos were likely harmful to 97% of the 1,700-odd mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and plants listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. And if these pesticides are so harmful to the U.S. most vulnerable species, they are likely threats to Australia’s rich wildlife as well. 

We need to put a stop to Australia’s lax pesticide regulations that mean more profits for Monsanto & Friends and less protection for our endangered species. The good news is that the pressure we’re putting on regulators to clamp down on dangerous pesticides is working.  

Just last year, the APVMA backed calls from researchers to further study the potential link between pesticides and Parkinson’s disease. Now, as regulatory bodies in the United States finally come to recognize the dangers of unregulated pesticides, we need to push our government to do the same.