Chuck said:

> it is MHO that the CHC import requirements for queens
> as currently written are rather unrealistic

Hey, its a start.

Like all "starts", it is a product of compromise between
factions that started out as "in conflict".



On a purely intellectual level, I do agree with you,
but not in the way you might think.

Trusting one's pest and disease protection to the
exporter (the so-called "source certification" approach)
is inherently flawed.

Canada should not trust its biosecurity to US, New Zealand,
Austrailian, or any other county's producers.  No country
should "trust" a for-profit foreign firm to place biosecurity
before sales and profits.

What is needed is port-of-entry inspection, where
statistical samples can be made, or as is done in the UK,
imported attendants are removed, replaced with local
attendants, and the imported attendants are killed and
examined by a lab for diseases and pests.

The rules concerning "Africanized Bees" (AHB) are transparent
political posturing, and therefore silly.  I can understand why
the CHC felt forced to address this, since they based some of
their "ban" rationale on the highly unrealistic fear that a
US queen breeder would ship AHB, or bees that had crossed
with AHB.

Just as a baker is not going to allow her flour to become
infested by bugs in the first place, let alone ship bread
baked with infested flour, what queen breeder would allow
their stock to become "africanized", let alone ship any
queens that show signs of producing workers "more defensive"
than usual?

...but, like I said, it is a start...


                  jim (Who does not sell queens, and
                       has no money onb the table)

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