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Date: | Sat, 29 May 2021 09:11:56 -0400 |
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The State of NY is trying to impose mandatory hive/apiary registration on
the states' beekeepers. Again.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/A7568
The current president of the "Empire State Honey Producers", which exists to
hold two meetings a year, supports the legislation, but past such attempts
have been blocked by a series of Governors, in one case defunding the state
apiarist down to a one-man operation as "non-essential".
Mandatory registration is widely opposed by the overwhelming majority of
beekeepers because:
1) The state already took the Obama "pollinator" finding and used it to try
to implement a requirement that a beekeeper move hives on 24 hours' notice
as the sole "solution" to widespread and persistent pesticide kills, and
this is simply not practical when hives are often a 17-hour drive from the
current location of the beekeepers and their trucks.
2) The general consensus is that mandatory registration will lead to fees
being levied to fund a "bee inspector" program that no one wants or needs,
and has been the basis for several past attempts at "empire building".
3) No one believes that Cornel will actually receive any significant
increased funding for bee extension work as a result of any mere "survey" of
beekeepers and hives, as these numbers are already well-known, and the "New
York Bee Wellness" non-profit is doing a better job than the state ever did,
all on free-will donations and the occasional small grant.
The problem that beekeeper-opponents face is that the current Governor is
almost inaccessible, as he (a) is embattled for lying about nursing home
COVID deaths; (b) facing sexual harassment and assault charges by at least 6
women; (c) never was one to appear at the usual social/charitable events
where the donor class might mention their displeasure with such things; (d)
preoccupied with feuding with the mayor of NYC over minutiae.
Aaron Morris and Peter Borst both worked hard years ago to try to turn the
Empire State organization into something more useful to beekeepers, but the
only part of all that effort that withstood the test of time was Pat Bono's
ongoing "NY Bee Wellness" 501(c)(3) non-profit NGO.
The disputes among beekeepers are so viscous and fierce because the rewards
are so small.
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