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Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:20:20 EST |
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Thanks for your replies Peter.
I think that what you have said amounts to 'there are no controls in
respect of the issue of resistance to known pests and diseases'. All that is
required is that exports be 'pest and disease free' to a certain standard.
Does that summary work for you?
Manwithbees wrote:
"under WTO rules the US needs to "prove" that the Australian bees have some
pest or pathogen that is not currently present in the US."
So it seems at present that US import controls (under WTO guidelines) make
no distinction between stock that is 'resistant' to pest and disease in
either a broad sense or one specific to particular problems (in the case of
bees). The sole control lies with the purchaser.
This seems to me be cause for concern in the case of an animal whose
breeding cannot be practically controlled. It opens the door to poorly
resistant stock that will mate with and thus downgrade existing stocks, tending to
perpetuate the difficulties.
This problem might be ameliorated to a degree if the importers themselves,
perhaps at the instigation of buyers, could distinguish between imports
likely to worsen their problems in the long run and those likely to contribute
to an improvement in health. But that seems problematic. For one thing
it runs counter to the bald interest of several of the parties involved.
For another oversight and certification would be expensive to say the least,
and quite possible largely impractical.
The difficulties could also lessened by exporting countries making a
greater effort to supply stock of a more desirable kind. But as Peter has
outlined, that seems problematic for other good reasons, though some Aussie
breeders are making a strong effort. (Peter hasn't told us what proportion of
Aussie bees arriving in the US are likely to have be carefully raised from
varroa resistant stock, either now or in the future.)
Failing such controls, we are left with the purchasers. If the bloom
growers were able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy bees (where that
term is equivalent to broad-spectrum resistant) they could, if they felt it
suited their purposes, apply pressure for healthy bees. Simply paying a
little more for colonies that are evaluated healthy, and likely to improve
rather than downgrade the heath of US bees, would help beekeepers choose to
take care of the genetic health of their stock rather than simply relying
on addictive treatments that are destructive of the health of the national
stock. That is, the stock belonging to their fellow beekeepers.
Mike
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