this is the text of a further article in the Irish Times dated July 3rd
1998.
 
"An air of gloom hung over the open day at the Teagasc beekeeping Research
Unit in Clonroche yesterday. The day before had been D-day for Irish
beekeepers. Overnight the Department ofr Agriculture and Food had destroyed
10 million bees in 150 hives in Co. sligo to prevent the spread of the
varroa mite which preys on colonies and wipes them out."
 
"There was anger too that somehow the pest had been introduced into Ireland,
the last place in the world outside australia to be free of the mite."
 
"Not even the news that substantial compensation of £80 per hive will be
paid to beekeepers concerned, brightened the day."
 
"  'We are at a crossroads in beekeeping in Ireland from here on in. We will
have to learn to live with varroa like everyone else' said Mr. Patsy Bennet,
the Teagasc bee expert."
 
"While he was lecturing the beekeepers who came from all over the country to
the session on how to spot the mites in hives, an angry debate was going on
as to how the long resisted mite had eventually made its way into this
country."
 
"None of the five beekeepers from Sligo who had been hit by the mite was in
attendance."
 
"Mr. Michael O'Callaghan, the Cork president of the Irish Beekeepers
federation appealed to beekeepers and the public to destroy any swarms of
wild bees they might find in the Sligo / Mayo area over the next few weeks."
 
"  'They can spread the mite because they cannot be controlled like the bees
we handle. If anyone sees a swarm of wild bees, they should destroy them,'
he said.
 
My comments on this fiasco are ;
1    The incidence of infested hives has increased from two hives to a
minium of five ( and probably a lot more)
 
2    Therefore the mite is widespread in the area.
 
3     A  slaughter policy is going to deter other beekeepers from coming
forward and seeking assistance.
 
4    If the mite is widespread in the area a slaughter policy cannot work
unless all carriers are killed; the mind runs to the tse tse fly eradication
program in East and central Africa to see the futility of a slaughter policy
where part of the vectoring factors are feral animals.
 
Ruary Rudd
rrudd@ tinet.ie