> Do you folks have something similar or is it buyer beware 
Hi Walter

> Do you folks have something similar or is it buyer beware and
> as a result of the latter you have large outbreaks in certain areas

We don't have any requirement for inspection before sale and if we had there would be significantly fewer problems with foulbrood disease.  The Scottish Beekeepers Association wants to push for some kind of mechanism to point buyers to approved sources of bees (and indeed secondhand equipment) as in the current situation with many beginners entering the craft and the uncertain status of stocks locally, and also those of distant traders selling into the area, the risks of spreading disease are huge.

In our current troubles in Scotland certainly many of the AFB cases and some EFB come from trade in bees or equipment from infected beekeepers, but the main problem with EFB is in my opinion anyway from apiary to apiary and beekeeper to beekeeper by drifting, robbing and manual spread on infected equipment.

best wishes

Gavin

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