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Date: | Sat, 8 Jun 1996 07:47:18 -0600 |
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> Hawaiian beekeepers have been trying to say for some time that
> because they did not have Varroa and Tracheal mites they should be
> allowed to send bees to Canada (and thereby pick up on what they see
> as a lucrative trade). Hence their desire to try and prevent the
> passage of bees from Australia and NZ via Hawaii thus (hopefully)
> force the Canadians to reopen the border - at least to them anyway.
Tens of thousands of queens from Hawaii are routinely imported into
Western Canada annually in the past few years. Imports are now
allowed from Hawaii, due to their proven freedom from mites and AHB.
These queens provide a source after the natural season in NZ and Aus.
There is now a movement afoot in Alberta to request re-examination of
the border closure in light of the high losses this past year, the
(slowly) increasing incidence of mites in Canada, and the belief that
the varroa mite can be managed. The substandard quality of
packages from a major NZ shipper, the shortage and quality of
queens, and punitively high prices are driving the movement.
Of course the outcome is far from certain, since the majority of
beekeepers across Canada have to concur -- unless some larger social
good is cited, and there are large areas that are now mite free that
would quickly become infested should package trade with the US
resume. And there is the AHB to consider too.
Regards
Allen
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>
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