Compulsory registration?

[Easy Beesy]

Rae and pete

All this subversive action, camobees and lawbreaking - and I thought swarming bees were exciting!

Do we get to do night manoeuvres and undercover ops too?

En

 

[Haughton Honey]

We registered on Beebase because the consequences are that a bee inspector might show up and tell us what we're doing wrong (highly unlikely to say we're doing everything right).

What's to say that your friendly inspector knows exactly what he/she is talking about?

Remember the one about asking three apiarists a question and getting five different answers.............?

I've had one here not so long ago who told me that I shouldn't keep bees on double brood (with no obvious and sensible reason as to why, apart from 'ease of manipulation'). I then showed him my colony occupying three BS National brood boxes, with another two deeps above a QX being used as supers).

Then he shut up.

Beebase is great if you want to be kept abreast of local outbreaks of disease.

 

[hedgerow pete]

yep thats right, hedgerows next videos will have to shot at night using night vision cameras whilst wearing a balaclava and having a silly voice??????? right so iam half way there now!!

and as for the 5 chickens or more i did not know about that one

hedregrow the chicken criminal, does this meen if i get nicked i will have to do BIRD!!!!

so it looks as if i had better get onto the council and get a herd number,

thats a shame realy as i have been keeping 10 chickens for ten years and at the allotments i have been visited by the rspca and the council animal welefare people many times and no one mentioned it


i could always paint the chickens green and brown and teach them to go moo

 

[Poly Hive]

There would be one very easy way of rounding up the vast majority of the UK beekeepers.



Subsidised sugar. Say 30p a kilo.....

During the 2nd WW it was amazing how many beekeepers there were, and some still base some stats on those figures... LOL

They got off ration sugar.... go figure.

PH

 

[hedgerow pete]

easy beesey this is off the defra web site

You must register if you own - or are responsible for - a poultry premises with 50 or more birds. This applies even if your premises are only stocked for part of the year. Premises with fewer than 50 birds do not need to register, but Defra encourages keepers to do so voluntarily.

so will hedgrero offer his details,,, i am affraid not

 

[tonybloke]

5 species?
actually it's if you have 50 chickens on a site that you must register the site with DEFRA

 

[Easy Beesy]

Sorry all. I knew u were supposed to register at some point just wasn't sure how many.
I'll put the camo jacket back but I'm keeping the balaclava!

Eb

 

[hedgerow pete]

these chickens dont like going moo! i know i could always teach them to go buzz, now that would give the bee inspector the willies

 

[oliver90owner]

actually it's if you have 50 chickens on a site that you must register the site with DEFRA

Is this why most (?)allotment sites do not allow animals to be kept on site? (OK, I know it goes back years before avian flu)

That might mean there are a lot of councils (that do allow chickens) breaking the law? I wonder if they 'count their chickens.....'

After all, the allotment 'site' is made up of several 'plots'.

RAB

 

[the buzz]

had w b c hive stolen last year in may, now puting alarmed locks under hives move or nock it 10 seconds of high desbell longer if still on move untill stationary

 

[adrian wilford]

o f course thefts of hives concern me, but registration may help with the control of diseases!! there are people not in an association or registered on beebase and could be harbouring some nasties. I know of some who loose their bees on a regular basis, like each year, i wonder why?

 

[Hivemaker.]

I know of some who loose their bees on a regular basis, like each year, i wonder why?

So do I,plus they are registered on beebase and members of associations,and thats not preventing them lose the their bee's either. I wonder why?

 

[MuswellMetro]

During the 2nd WW it was amazing how many beekeepers there were, and some still base some stats on those figures... LOL

They got off ration sugar.... go figure.

PH

That's how my Grand father started out ,just caught a swarm, made a cottage hive. claimed is "green" sugar, eventually ended up with 100 hives in the 60's

 

[Chris58]

Just to say here in France as of this year all beekeepers must be registered, with number of hives at each venue - if you move them around you must also state where you move them to and from. We do not sell our honey - newbies - so we have a 'numagrit'. If you sell honey you have to have a 'siret'. All hives can now theoretically be checked.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Just to say here in France as of this year all beekeepers must be registered, with number of hives at each venue - if you move them around you must also state where you move them to and from. We do not sell our honey - newbies - so we have a 'numagrit'. If you sell honey you have to have a 'siret'. All hives can now theoretically be checked.

Is this definitely a new thing Chris?
I thought registration has been a requirement in France for quite a number of years?

 

[MartinL]

More Over Legislation

Whats wrong with the status quo and bee-base?

I know, lets all mark each individual bee with our postcode.
After all they are only miniature carrier pigeons!

 

[MartinL]

The Overseers

"Who do you think would demand the right to implement This?" I was sure you meant DEFRA. That would be a nightmare. We have them looking over our shoulders all the time with all our livestock (and with good reason) but surely it would run the risk of stopping people from getting started as it has done to new goat keepers. I even know farms where they have given up pigs because of the paperwork and the way Defra have the right to come onto your property without your permission if hey think you have filled in a form incorectly! Bees are my way of relaxing away from the farm. Paperwork would really get me down.
Am I ranting?

Not only DEFRA, our County Ecologist turned up on my doorstep not too long ago. When I told them they were lucky to find me in, the reply was "that's ok I have a warrant"!
All I had done was apply for planning permission.
This was all due to the usual, over zealous members of our Parish Council, the sort who would probably preside over this, (you know, like the Pigs in Animal Farm).

 

[Adam]

Maybe another route would be to make it a requirement for apiaries to be registered,
And even more difficult if the beekeeping operation is kind of nomadic...ie no fixed apairies....here there and everywhere....would they need to just register the entire county/s as you apairy,or just apairy uk.

I heard an interesting story of a beekeeper (can't remember where) who was asked to get some kind of permission from the council for his hive location. When he wanted to move it, in a series of steps (less than three foot), he simply sent in a daily update to it's changed location from one side of his garden to the other and in the end they just gave up

The reason why compulsory registration doesn't work is it's difficult to define what to register, is it the physical hive, the queen, the colony.... with a farm animal, it's quite clear what you've tagged, but hives get swapped, broken up, nucs removed for swarm control. The speed of change is faster than the administrative effort. Not only that but disease spread is slower, e.g. not as rapid as Foot and Mouth and bees swarm and move physical locations - over distances which cannot be determined prior to departure.

As mentioned, a stolen colony could be used to reinforce colonies, to make nucleus, to make good lost colonies. In short, it couldn't be proved if stolen colonies had, or hadn't been used. Overall, just an adminstrative overhead with no benefits to the beekeeper.

Contrary to some of the postings, I doubt the BBKA would be interested. The data protection issues, the lack of powers invested in an amateur organisation in terms of mandatory registration, or warrants to enter private property would just be too daunting. The government wouldn't buy into it (generally) as their wouldn't be an obvious source of revenue benefit, or reduction in running costs.

Adam

Adam

 

[nelletap]

I am not convinced it would help against theft; I expected the question to argue that it would help with things like disease control and even strategies such as Hoskins(? ) who says he wants to get the self grooming drones into an area to combat varroa. Because of foraging and swarming, knowing where colonies are could be of value. However, like many people, I tend to rebel again the idea of compulsory anything.
Tricia

 

[Hivemaker.]

Adam,who is your post directed at,Rolande or myself?