Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 11 November 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 13 November 2024. It was answered by Mary Creagh (Labour) on Thursday, 14 November 2024 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Butterflies

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of recent rends in the level of butterfly numbers, in the context of the results from the recent Big Butterfly Count 2024.

Answer: The recently published Butterflies in the United Kingdom and in England: 2023 provides statistics on UK butterfly abundance and includes an assessment of population trends for different groups of species, and habitat type as well as the major drivers of decline. The detailed report is published on GOV.UK (Butterflies in the United Kingdom and in England: 2023 - GOV.UK). It contains data up to and including 2023; robust data for estimates of change in abundance of butterflies for 2024 will be available to Defra in summer 2025. In summary, on average the abundance of butterflies across the UK continues to show a long-term decline. This is due to a range of factors including weather patterns, habitat loss, pollution and the use of pesticides.

Secondary information