> ...mandating apiary registration... > the apiary inspection program has not always > been popular for reasons such as... > search and seizure without due process... Just in case anyone gets the impression that NY Beekeepers are either pointy-headed constitutional scholars or camouflage-garbed survivalists hand-reloading .308 Winchester rounds while mumbling about "trespass on their property", let me explain. Most beekeepers keep bees in several yards, and own at most one or two of those yards. All the other yards are the property of a generous third party, often a close friend, who allows the bees to be on their land for the trivial rent of a few gallons of honey a year. Many of these generous people own valuable livestock. The first rule, the most important rule is "close the gate". (Why they don't have cattle guards installed, I dunno, but most don't.) So, when the state suddenly declares that they have the unconditional right to send part-time employees unknown to the land owner onto that landowner's property to inspect the beehives at whim with no notice or advance warning, what does the rational landowner do? He tells the beekeeper "sorry, but I can't take the risk of having your bees here anymore". No matter how well-trusted the beekeeper himself, the deal is soured by the potential appearance of an unknown party at a random time. The loss of outyards is what the rational beekeeper fears, not the loss of "privacy". In an urban setting, the percentage of beekeepers who own their own suitable roof or backyard is tiny, so the same problem exists. The roof or yard owner has even more concerns about random people entering on their own whim based upon a presumption of some dubious "authority" not involving clear life and death situations, as in police, fire, and EMS. Worse yet, access to both roofs and backyards is most often only gained by going through the private living quarters of most brownstones. Larger buildings have staffs, elevators, and fire stairs, but they also have grave concerns about even the one slightly scruffy-looking beekeeper having access, so the unannounced appearance of a second would likely doom the arrangement. The city fire inspector, the building inspector, and all the other bureaucrats with vague "rights to inspect" make appointments well in advance like civilized people. The NY apiary inspection language was such an overreach of authority in the pursuit of such a minor goal, it was unique in its breathtaking hubris. Certainly, Ag & Markets can impose regulations for those who chose to be "agricultural producers", but the moment those rules imposed demands upon 3rd parties, they became comically grandiose. From a constitutional standpoint, the social contract does not include being forced to opens one gate or door to an endless parade of self-important bureaucrats with tiny concerns of no specific interest to the property owner. The health of insects? Not exactly drug-resistant tuberculosis, is it? Even the meter reader has been eliminated by high-tech wireless gadgetry, so "right of entry" is no longer assumed unless you arrive in a vehicle with lights and a siren. But carry a pizza, and doors swing open without question. Go figure. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html