On Thursday 16th May I attended the Bees Tea in Parliament, an event organised by Friends of the Earth.

The plight of British bees has had a great deal of coverage lately and I have received emails and letters from many concerned constituents.  Although the European Commission decided at the end of April to proceed with a ban on the use of certain bee-harming pesticides, there is still much to be done if we want to reverse the decline in bee numbers.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Prime Minister to commit to a Bee Action Plan to tackle all major causes of bee decline.  It is also supporting individuals who wish to make changes to their gardens and communities to help local bees.

To support the call to David Cameron and find out what else you can do to help bees, visit www.foe.co.uk/bees.   

An investigation conducted by the World Society for the Protections of Animals (WSPA) has revealed disturbing evidence of animal cruelty and massive conservation and financial failures at the Cayman Turtle Farm.

Despite marketing itself as a conservation-focused tourist attraction, the Cayman Turtle Farm is the world's last remaining facility to commercially raise sea turtles for slaughter and consumption.

Some 7000 endangered sea turtles have been effectively immobilised and stockpiled in filthy, tiny tanks.  The animals become extremely stressed due to overcrowding and in-breeding causes their young to be born with severe deformities.

Today I attended the International Fund for Animal Welfare's 'Dying for Ivory' event at the House of Commons.

Recent months have seen shocking scenes of massacred elephants killed by poachers for their ivory tusks.  For example, in the first two months of 2012, it is reported that as many as 650 elephants were butchered in a national park in north Cameroon. 

IFAW's event highlighted the threats currently facing elephant populations, focusing on the rising consumer demand in China.  Recent stockpile sales of ivory have fuelled demand, pushed prices up and allowed illegal ivory to be leaked into the market place along with legal ivory.  IFAW explained a combination of these factors could be contributing to the rise of poaching and the destruction of wild elephant populations.