At risk of doing what I am objecting to -- getting into politics rather
than bees, I will make one last post on this rather political and partisan
subject, then let it lie. Unless, of course, it does become an objective
discussion of the merits of isolation and methods of ensuring quarantine.
On Sun, 26 Feb 1995, Andy Nachbaur wrote:
> / . --- start quotes --- / .
>
> <>Date: Sat, 25 Feb 1995 15:39:35 -0700
> <>From: Allen Dick <[log in to unmask]>
> <>Subject: Re: Your help needed to protect Hawai'i's honey bees
> <>
> <>On Sat, 25 Feb 1995, Kevin Roddy wrote:
> <>
> <>Some Hawaiians are (cynically) mostly interested in getting an advantage
> <>over New Zealand in the lucrative queen business by using an antequated,
> <>but convenient law and trying to recruit support by deliberate
> <>misrepresentation.
> <>
> / . --- end of quotes --- / .
>
> Hello Allen,
>
> This may be true, I am also a cynic, but would you want to bet your
> bees on it, or just someone else's bees?.
Give me a break, Andy.
We bet our bees on it every year. We have no problem accepting New
Zealand bees, Australian too. We even accept Hawaiian bees. It was quite
a fight to get them. After all Hawaii is part of the USA.
> And what is so evil about
> beekeepers trying to protect their own interests,
I thought I said cynical, not evil. I believe their rightful interests
can be served without lying in someone else's manger.
> I am sure that the
> New Zealand beekeepers are just as interested in the $$$ they can make
> by selling bees as the few Hawaiians who ship bees. I am also sure there
> are more then just bee shippers who would like to see Hawaiian bee's
> protected from the buggy man.
There is no question that it is in the interest of the industry to
protect Hawaii's bee population. I was merely commenting on the shotgun
approach and the bogus arguments used.
There are much more specific and honest methods of accomplishing the task
of protecting Hawaii.
As I understand it, he result of the proposal being circulated is not just
to protect the bees in Hawaii, but also to affect the the entire
(non-contiguous!) country. Overkill to say the least.
Hawaii has been granted special status as recognition of its isolation
and is treated differently from the rest of the USA -- as well it should.
> When Canada opens its boarders to the United States I will lobby
> Washington to open the US boarders to bees from around the world,
You see there is the problem. This is not about protecting Hawaii. This
is about tit for tat.
If you descend to such you reduce it to a battle of 'sides'-- not truth,
and you are abusing all the people wha are working for the best of the
industry -- no matter in what jurisdiction. And you reduce your
own behaviour to the level of the worst example you can find to react to.
Alberta has always maintained a strong objection to knee-jerk border
closure.
Our policy in Alberta is to treat all jurisdictions, domestic or
foreign equally, and to not subject any one to punitive treatment.
Where possible, we have tried to distinguish physical from political
boundaries and make allowances. That is why we have been able to get bees
from Aus, even though varroa has been found on an isolated bit of their
soil.
Similarly we have fought for and managed to work with Gus to get
Hawaii accepted as a source, even though it is part of the USA, a country
where a most destructive pest is running rampant and AHB is becoming a
threat to public health.
To the extent that these issues have become political, not pragmatic, we
all suffer. Regulation is necessary, however we must strive to minimise
it, not encourage widespread regulation for a local problem.
Appeals for unthinking partisanship and blanket measures are destructive to
all.
I have spoken! :-)
Allen
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK
Rural Route One Swalwell Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0
Email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
Virtual Art Gallery: http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka
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