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Subject:
From:
Nick Wallingford <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Fri, 29 Mar 1996 21:09:41 +0000
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New Zealand has undertaken a scientifically sound survey (funded by
our industry) to determine what pests/diseases of bees are present.
We can speak with assurance of our relative freedom from the
pests/diseases that are causing problems in other countries.  I urge
Mr Patton to have the same sort of survey done in Hawaii.  I repeat,
absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
 
NZ beekeepers do not 'pay him (Dr D Anderson) a lot of money to
disspell the concern about bee viruses'.  We do not pay him anything
- he works for CSIRO, I believe.  We *did* pay him as a bee
pathologist some years back - and while in that role he found Kashmir
bee virus in NZ bees!  You don't pay scientists to tell you just what
you want to hear...
 
NZ recognised that with the way the world markets were going, it was
sensible to *seriously* survey our bee populations to find what was
out there.  Again, I urge Hawaii and other countries to do likewise,
so these discussions can consist of facts, rather than emotive
slurs.
 
(Figures in next paragraph reported in pounds - sorry, most of the
world!)
 
Mr Paton provides figures on honey production and suggests we should
'ponder these facts regarding the health effects of bee viruses.'
The figure he quoted for NZ honey production for 1995 did not come
from the NZ Beekeeping Home Page.  Rather than 'about 40 lb' per
hive, the average for NZ in 1995 was 61 lb.  The year before the
national average was 90 lb!  The average of the previous five years
(a better method of determining crop, as it avoids over/under
reporting due to especially good/bad seasons) for NZ is 64 lb.  How
does this affect Mr Patton's ponderings that NZ production is
affected by the health effects of bee viruses?
 
If you want to learn more about the NZ beekeeping industry, the WWW
pages Mr Patton refers to are a good starting point.  Check out the
NZ Beekeeping Profile document!
 
http://www.internode.net/~allend/nz/nzbkpg.htm
 
Finally (sorry for the length of the post) I would like to thank Mr
Patton for his comments that NZ beekeepers are 'advanced and skilled
marketeers'.  We are also highly professional, consistent, organised
and honest.
------------------------------------------
Nick Wallingford
President - National Beekeepers Assn of NZ
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