I'm wondering how the SBA hive Beetle discussions are progressing since the council meeting & resolution?
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I'm wondering how the SBA hive Beetle discussions are progressing since the council meeting & resolution?
All I'm prepared to say on an open forum is that it is a really crucial time in discussions both at Scottish and UK level. The discussions that matter most regarding a spreading pest like SHB are those at UK level, largely as imports cross the UK border into England but also given the BBKA statements on the topic. There are two senior people in the SBA who link with other associations in the UK and it is these individuals who are responsible for representing the view of the members of the SBA at the UK level. The Council meeting gave the SBA a very clear steer on what it should be doing, so I intend to contact them now and invite them here to answer your question. One has posted here in the past, the other has not.
And for those south of the border … there is a BBKA Annual Delegates Meeting in January (I think) where West Sussex have tabled a proposal to support an import ban. Now is a good time for associations to raise their concerns with county representatives to increase the pressure on the Exec. Ctte. who currently do not support the proposal.
Is Rosie about? mbc? What's happening in Wales with the WBKA? I've looked at their website and can find no statement other than the announcement that SHB is in Italy.
Good for West Sussex!
Any word on our own Scottish Governments position ?
Is Aunty Nicola going to play ball or not?
E.K Bee Wrote:
"Is Aunty Nicola going to play ball or not"?
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As delegate of my local SNP branch I have submitted a resolution on an import ban re., the SHB for consideration to my branch, which if accepted will go forward to the Selection Committee of the National Exec Council and again, if accepted will be submitted at the SNP Spring Conference by myself and voted on - if accepted it will be put forward as policy and could result in a Scottish ban!! The wheels of politics grind slowly but patience is the key!
I successfully submitted a resolution to the SNP Spring Conderence in 2012 on banning neonics which, was seconded by Alyn Smith MEP, this was accepted unanimously - sadly the SBA rejected the same resolution at the AGM in that year. It is now common knowledge that later that year neonics were banned for 2 years by the EU parliament!
Sorry for digging up decomposing bodies! I merely wish to demonstrated that such actions as going through the machinery of government can get a positive result. However I realise that time is of the essence here and the resolution even if accepted could be too late! The effort is worth making as far as I am concerned - even if only as a protest!
Its the age old problem that - those who don't keep bees wonder what all the fuss is about by those that do - most people are quite ignorant about bees and don't understand the implications of the devastation that such pests can cause. About time some serious education of those in "power" - perhaps then some serious attention might be taken of the problems faced by All beekeepers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Hi Grizzly
Eduction in high places - that is the way forward! To this end further to my last post re., a resolution on the banning of imports of honey bees. With the involvement the new thousands of SNP members at the 2015 SNP Spring conference; such a high profile exposure is one step closer.
I assume you will notify Gavin - see under!!
Gavin
I have just received confirmation from the secretary of my local SNP branch that the resolution pasted under, will be going forward to the next stage in the selection process. As an SNP supporter (member?), I wonder if you would care to second this motion should it find its way onto the agenda of the 2015, SNP Spring Conference.
Eric
1) Conference deplores the imminent threat to the health and continued existence of Scotland’s honey bees and Scottish beekeeping posed by the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida) due to the absence of a ban on the importation of honey bees from countries in which this dangerous parasite exists both within and out with the European Union.
2) Conference believes that in the medium to long term interests of safeguarding the health and continued existence of the honey bee and thus safeguarding the important pollination service performed by the honey bee that effective protective measures should be put in place.
3) Conference proposes that an effective importation ban should be invoked regarding countries referred to in paragraph 1)
to protect Scotland’s honey bees and the beekeeping industry from this scourge
.Quote:
1) Conference deplores the imminent threat to the health and continued existence of Scotland’s honey bees and Scottish beekeeping posed by the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida) due to the absence of a ban on the importation of honey bees from countries in which this dangerous parasite exists both within and out with the European Union
Of course, I support this proposal. However, a ban already exists as regards the 100km zone around infected apiaries. The method of dealing with the situation has been in place for a long time. It must be stressed to members that they should not import any bees without proper paperwork -I don't think that any one in their right mind would do this anyway and I mean both exporters and importers.
Eric, I haven't been a member of any political party for about 40 years. Good on you for raising the profile though.
Duncan has a point about the 'unofficial' transactions. There are a lot of grey imports and, on average, these are likely to be more risky than from those who have a reputation to uphold.
[QUOTE=gavin;28431]Eric, I haven't been a member of any political party for about 40 years. Good on you for raising the profile though.
Never too late!!
Interestingly someone has just posted on the other forum that it would be easy to post a queen in a disguised envelope so there's no point in having a ban if easily circumvented.
I'm less optimistic than Duncan ...
I would hope that making something illegal would discourage many from following this course of action. I think we also need far better education at the association level to emphasise the potential problems from imports.
Unfortunately fatshark , although association members might decry imports from infected areas -they are not able to introduce legislation to impose a ban - this falls into the remit of the "suits" that occupy the U.K. parliaments. These are the people we have to persuade to take up responsible actions on behalf of us beekeepers.
Just "putting a queen in an envelope" without the required health certificate and posting it from one EU country to another IS illegal. The exporter and importer are both acting illegally.
It is in everyone's best interests that procedures are followed and veterinary checks are carried out when moving bees around the EU.
A heavy fine, like 50,000 AND the threat of a jail sentence, would go a long way towards discouraging this sort of behaviour.
Because of EU and international trade agreements, there is not going to be a ban on imports from SHB free areas. National governments are not able to impose a ban - no matter how much lobbying is done at a local level. So any petitions etc are just a waste of time and effort, but probably have a "feel good" side to them.
It is disturbing that the SHB was discovered right at the end of the active season in Europe. It may even be present already in the UK and elsewhere, but just hasn't been detected yet. The spring of 2015 might be interesting to say the least.
Where SHB has been detected ALL the hives in the apiary have been burnt. Sad but true and shows just how determined the vets are in their efforts to eradicate it.
Finally a question for you: Does SHB also attack Bombus nests?
I looked at the NBU information and it says that Bombus is an alternative host! I can see that it is only a matter of time for it to spread far and wide.
I certainly agree that Associations cannot impose a ban. They can a) reduce the demand for imports through education, b) pressurise their MP and MEP's and c) insist that the national beekeeping associations act responsibly in the interests of all UK beekeepers. They have little time to do any of these things ...
Article 36 of the Lisbon Treaty states that "The provisions of Articles 34 and 35 shall not preclude prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in transit justified on grounds of public morality, public policy or public security; the protection of health and life of humans, animals or plants; the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value; or the protection of industrial and commercial property. Such prohibitions or restrictions shall not, however, constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States."
I'm no expert in EU law (actually, I'm whatever is diametrically opposite an expert in EU law and most other laws is called) but I think some of the above might just apply.
Re.the beetle being here already … I believe the imported packages (to the UK) have already been checked by the NBU. I've no idea what's happening in France and wouldn't be at all surprised if the beetle has been exported there from Italy already. That's why an import ban is more important and potentially effective than an export ban from the known afflicted region.
Now there IS a workable idea!!
"A heavy fine, like 50,000 AND the threat of a jail sentence, would go a long way towards discouraging this sort of behaviour".
[QUOTE=fatshark;28437]Interestingly someone has just posted on the other forum that it would be easy to post a queen in a disguised envelope so there's no point in having a ban if easily circumvented.
What does a stealth envelope look like? :D
(I could hire my dogs out to GLA as detectors
If I put a bee youtube on the TV, the minute they both hear buzzing they are off)
I find the "everyone will turn into a smuggler" argument quite unlikely
Jay Evans and colleagues have published a study using genetic tracing of SHB … perhaps these fines could be retrospectively imposed ;-)
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1603/AN10027 (sorry can't provide access to the full ms)
Worrying opening to the final sentence of the abstract "Excellent dispersal of beetles, aided in some cases by migratory beekeeping and the bee trade ...."
A few weeks ago we thought calabria in Italy was an shb free area, we now know differently.
To allow imports from anywhere with beekeeping contacts to this area is bonkers until everyone has a proper look in the new season, vigilant and forewarned by what's happened to the unfortunate beekeepers of calabria.
Not surprising is it when you consider that large numbers of hives are concentrated at Almond pollination time and then moved all around the USA. A busy package industry has also helped it move over long distances.Quote:
Worrying opening to the final sentence of the abstract "Excellent dispersal of beetles, aided in some cases by migratory beekeeping and the bee trade ...."
A bit different to the UK.
If you look at the number of package and queen imports from Italy alone (1200+ and 1700+ respectively in 2014) and compare it to the scale of UK beekeeping (~200,000 colonies in total) then 2% of colonies in any one year here might be of Italian origin. If you consider all imports (nucs, packages and queens, perhaps ~12,000 in total) it might be 6% of all colonies. Figures from Beebase.
It's certainly much bigger in the USA (2.5+ million colonies) and there's certainly lots more migratory beekeeping there, but that doesn't alter the fact that the bee trade was identified in that abstract as an efficient means of spreading SHB and there is a significant amount of bees traded from Italy and the rest of Europe.
fatshark, the quantities of imports you write about indicates that we DON'T need them; Our own bees can easily make up numbers themselves.
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What does a stealth envelope look like? :D
I've no idea -- just can't see them !¬
Got this petition this morning to stop imports with the aim of preventing arrival of SHB into the UK if anyone is interested in signing ?
I agree … but the point I was making is that bee trade is a significant route of pathogen spread.
Perhaps everyone - including the association officers - should be forced to watch Michael Palmer and his Sustainable Apiary … he's talking at the Somerset Beekeepers Lecture Day early next year. With better preparation, improved IPM, more timely training, more efforts at colony improvement, autumn requeening etc etc we would not need imports in the UK.
Will a ban be in place before the 2015 imports start coming to UK? No, probably not, if ever, but at least it has everyone thinking and talking about the problem.
At least they could introduce a certification of health from a qualified vet on all imports.
We have to have them in germany now even for shifting colonies between shires (like between bayern &
Baden-Württemberg). not just hive beetle, fould brood, ect.
This is what I was also referring to in post 11. Four months and counting. So probably not happening.
As for a last minute ban, just imagine the lobbying from the large scale importers (including a few that plainly do have the ear of those in power) 'you've had all winter, now you're pulling the rug out when it's too late for us to place new orders with Southern Hemisphere suppliers.....'
Well yes, but less fuss than sending queens?!