Bob Fanning wrote:

“I can only conclude that the free movement of honeybee colonies does 
expedite the
spread of honeybee problems.”

     Assuming your conclusion is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it, 
I wonder if there is a way to determine how much economic benefit Alabama 
has gained or lost by taking this approach.  Certainly some beekeepers will 
feel that they have benefited by not having to deal with some problems for 
some extra amount of time.  Some of these and others may feel that they 
might have been able to benefit by being able to ship their bees out for 
pollination and bring them back for winter or for valuable flows.  
     It may have been done, or it may be worth doing, an analysis of what 
has been saved over what may have been lost by this approach.  Questions 
that would need to be answered include how many seasons free of the various 
pests have been gained, what are the additional costs associated with 
having to deal with each pest or, perhaps more realistically, the 
incremental accumulation of pests.  What costs have been incurred in 
enforcement?  Was there or would there have been interest on the part of 
some Alabama beekeepers in moving hives out of and back into the state for 
pollination or to gain additional honey crops, and if so what kind of 
income might this activity have brought into the state?   
     There are certainly other parameters I am not thinking of right now 
that would contribute to a cost benefit analysis of the whole approach.  It 
might also be worth looking at how having Alabama’s neighboring states take 
this same position would effect the situation for Alabama beekeepers or for 
Alabamans in general.  There are a lot of things to consider, and I can 
imagine Alabama looked at this fairly carefully when they created this 
statute and again when they reaffirmed it.  A lot of times it is the 
squeaky wheel that gets the grease in matters of legislation, but it is not 
always clear that the greatest good is served for the greatest number.  

Steve Noble   

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