Responses in Whatsapp Groups can often be simplistic ……and potentially …… dangerously misleading with serious consequences – look at this one!
Beekeepers, Please Reflect!
DO NOT just pick bees in a hive, from one county, and take them into another!!!! You could hurt the industry irreparably!!!
While the uninstructed may argue there is no legal prohibition in this country. Hey, pause on that. By the way, I think there is! Please check with your local veterinary office.
All those on this WhatsApp group who seemed to compete in the me-too chorus chest thumping how they have moved bees from one county to another….. thinking it elevates them as professionals in beekeeping….. sorry!!!…… I think it presents you differently, unfortunately!
You are doing yourselves and the industry a disservice. As a responsible citizen, and beekeeper, it behooves you to appreciate the implication of your action and reflect on the gravity and consequences of the ‘ignorance loops’ your decision has on the environment. or so I think!
Caution
The relocation of bees from one county to another raises biosecurity risks including the potential impact on the disease-resistant qualities of local honey bee colonies. Emerging pathogens of honey bees present a risk, and relocating bees from one geography to another can have a devastating effect on the beekeeping sector in the host location – with the introduction of new pathogens and pests into your apiary.
As responsible beekeepers, we all need to be alive to the potential impact of devastating bee diseases and pests, which can weaken or kill entire colonies unwittingly transported with the bees and could contribute to future colony losses.
What is honey bee biosecurity?
Honey bee biosecurity is a set of measures designed to protect a beekeeper’s honey bees from the entry and spread of pests. Honey bee biosecurity is the responsibility of every beekeeper and every person visiting or working in an apiary.
Implementing honey bee biosecurity is essential for a beekeeper.
The implementation of biosecurity measures in beekeeping (BMBs) plays an essential role in supporting honey bee health within the beekeeping sector. BMBs are all those operational activities implemented by the beekeeper in controlling the risk of the introduction and spread of specific honey bee disease agents
Advise to Beekeepers
Kindly seek appropriate guidance from your local veterinary office and the one at the destination where you wish to take the Honey Bees. The veterinary office in both locations needs to provide you with a “Movement Permit” and a “No objection permit” respectively.
It turns out that such thoughtless acts of movement noted in this kind of conversation are what fuel the conversation to regulate the bee industry, in this country, no?
One would imagine that Beekeepers and Bee advocates who seek to change or improve the Industry will in the meantime also find in this kind of WhatsApp conversation a challenge and opportunity to elevate beekeeping best practices. We should all elevate a deeper look at how to strengthen and promote healthy colonies – particularly focusing on whether, and to what extent, apiary registration, source of bees in your apiary, and inspection programs need to be done more stringently.
An Appeal
In general and more importantly, let’s create awareness of best practice beekeeping as responsible beekeepers – this is our appeal.