I am glad Jim brought this hearing to our attention.  I, for one, will write
and say that I am not opposed to importation of germplasma but am opposed to
importation of live bees.  While neither New Zealand or Australia have
Tropiaelaps or the Cape Bee,  both are, as Jim says, very close in
geographic terms.  Especially Australia and Tropiaelaps.

BTW, Tropiaelaps has successfully migrated from Dorsata to Mellifera in Asia
and I am advised that its destructive capability make Varroa look like
lambs!

We got ourselves into this with one of the trade treaties we signed.
Basically, we no longer can ban imports without a very good reason.  Since
neither country has either of the pests mentioned, it is legally
questionable whether we can ban live animal imports based solely on their
being nearer to the pests home than ourselves.


Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner of Ross Rounds, manufacturer of comb honey equipment
for beekeepers and Sundance pollen traps.
http://www.rossrounds.com
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