> This sounds like throwing the baby out with the bath water. 

Yes, well, most US states haven't had inspection programs for decades, including California which probably has the most stationary hives. The states that do have programs, run them in a wide variety of ways, some effective, some not. In the US, there is a strong resentment to regulation. Witness the resistance to regulation of guns, which is arguably far more of a national problem than sick bees. 

Furthermore, the real bee health issues are not addressed by bee inspectors. They look for AFB, a bacterial disease, not viruses (for which they have no recommendations) nor pesticide damage. As NY inspectors we were told to look the other way when we saw violations of the laws concerning beekeeper applied chemicals, not our jurisdiction. By the way, the authority on that issue is the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation), which has no jurisdiction or expertise to look at bees. 

The biggest sticking point with inspection has always been that the law includes a provision "allowing" inspectors on private property without 1) permission of the owner; 2)  probable cause; 3) a warrant. Without probable cause (the suspicion of a crime) you couldn't get a warrant. So the law sidesteps the issue by "allowing" inspectors to go on any property where bees are kept. People in Ag & Mkts know this would never hold up against a legal challenge.

PLB

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