Vince Coppola wrote:
 
I don't know. Can a disease be trasmitted ? A virus ? Is there a technical
reason to prevent importation ? Is there a regulator or scientist who can
answer ?
 
Hi Vince,
I don't know if it is possible to spread disease via semen but
undesireable traits are an important issue.   That is the stock being imported.
Does it have undesireable traits?  Are we sure it has the desired
traits?  How do we know?  Whenever stock is imported there is some
risk of bringing in something undesireable.  For example look at the
problems in South Africa with the cape bee.  I think that the stock
to be imported would need to have documented desireable traits to
 be worth the risk.  Some of these risks are hard to define but we need to
 have a way to evaluate the proposed importation in terms of the risk involved.
 Importing semen seems to me to have lower risk that bringing in queens but there
 is still some risk involved.  If the traits can be found here why
take the risk of importing stock?
Other livestock breeding groups have addressed these issues and
developed mechanisms to allow limited importation maybe we need to
look at what they have done.
 
blane
 
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Blane White
State Apiary Inspector
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
90 W Plato Blvd
St Paul, MN 55107
http://www.mda.state.mn.us
 
 
ph 612-296-0591
fax 612-296-7386
 
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