A little history:
An NYS apiary advisory committee, consisting of six beekeepers, was established.
APIARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS - 1986
Mr. Edward Lord
Route 9W
Hannacroix, New York 12087
Mr. Jonathan Ryan
Route 34B
Kings's Ferry, New York 13081
Mr. Richard Sanders
Chestnut Street
Sharon Springs, New York 13459
Mr. Robert Stevens
Box 37, Route 29
Middle Falls Road
Greenwich, New York 12834
Mr. Ronald Tweedie
3 Carriage Road
Delmar, New York 12054
Mr. Steven Zimmerman
1143 Elmira Road, Rte 13
Newfield, New York 14867
After four meetings the following recommendations were made.
1. Apiary inspectors should supervise burning of infected hives.
2. The use of antibiotics to prevent AFB should be recommended.
3. Registration of all apiaries in a state registry should be required.
SALE OF HONEY FROM AFB INFECTED HIVES
Since AFB spores occur commonly in commercial honey and
cannot infect other insects or animals, they pose no threat to
the public. That being the case, the State should consider
whether destruction of honey from AFB infected hives (currently
required) is necessary or even desirable. Under the present
system, beekeepers may be understandably reluctant to report AFB
infections or to allow inspection of their hives if they suspect
AFB is present, especially when destruction of the honey would
result in a serious financial loss.
ΒΆ
Only one of the recommendations was implemented: "Apiary inspectors should supervise burning of infected hives." Prior to that the beekeeper was on their own, and a lot of hives got moved to "hospital yards." Now the use of preventive medication is illegal and the registration requirement has resurfaced. Many beekeepers view it as a way to move to licensing fees, particular if it is passed without beekeeper approval. If beekeepers wanted this and wanted to pay for it, why are they not spearheading it, instead of Ag & Mkts? Dumb question, I know.
To me, the biggest sticking point is that the law as written allows state inspectors (with dubious qualifications) to come on to your property without your permission and rummage through your hives, without probable cause. In cases where this was challenged, the courts ruled in favor of the beekeeper's right to privacy and protection from unreasonable search. Another thing: as inspectors, we were told we could not inspect unregistered hives. We only got paid for inspection if the registration info was in place. You could suggest to the owner to register, but they didn't have to.
Personally, I spent a lot of time inspecting hives that I knew were clean and was discouraged from seeking out potential sources of AFB. We were supposed to be "impartial," inspect township by township, and not be a "bloodhound." You can't make this stuff up.
PLB
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
