It's difficult to know what message BIBBA are promoting these days. The initial stance was a clear Amm-only message - but that was rejected by the vast majority of beekeepers in the UK. The current message of rearing open mated mongrels is a departure from those purist principals but appeals to those who like to do a little queen rearing on the side (i.e. it is more palatable and helps swell BIBBA ranks). It isn't breeding at all though. It's just queen rearing.
I won't even respond to the personal comments. I listened to the Q&A and noted that you & Roger Patterson asked a leading question that could only receive a positive response. However, the comments that followed clarified what was meant and effectively nullified the support you sought to receive. In short, they shot you down. On the whole Coloss supports local populations, wherever they exist...but there wasn't an Amm population in the presentation - nor could BIBBA have put one forward since they now seem to advocate raising mongrels.
Coloss, in general, supports local populations wherever there is one (ironic, because Germany has adopted Amc over its native Amm - but, I'll let that pass) but it also found examples where the locally accepted strains were out-performed by lines from other area (e.g. a carnica line did better in Finland than the commonly-used ligustica). The point is: the message isn't clear-cut. The jury is still out.
I don't think they recorded the Q&A. Pity.
At least we agree on one thing, 'it is a pity we do not have a recording of the Q and A'.
You also state that '(BIBBA) now seem to advocate raising mongrels' which, of course, is not true, but many of us may be in the position of only having mongrel bees. If someone is in this position (and most of are, to a greater or lesser extent, due to repeated imports of exotic sub-species) we do not say hard luck, there is nothing that you can do to improve the situation. Instead we explain how bee improvement is relevant to all and through assessment and selection we can all improve our bees (and not by importing more foreign sub-species which only adds to the problem).
You may be interested to know that a purer strain of bees can be developed from a hybridised strain through selection. I have been told this by several bee scientists and have found it to be true. So you mock that we are advocating breeding from mongrels, but whilst we accept that that may be the starting position for many, we have always advocated development of a local strain and breeding within it, and that is our goal.
The 'anti-BIBBA crusade' that you and several other vociferous members of this forum seem to be waging, would draw a lot more support if you stuck to true facts and not just figments of your imagination. It is quite clear that you do not understand what BIBBA stands for and can only justify your position by continually stating mis-truths about it.
BIBBA are interested in moving beekeeping forward from the position we are in at present to a point where we have better quality bees. I do not hear many other organisations with a creditable plan, or any plan at all, for achieving that. Unfortunately, the dissenters do not seem to have strong arguments and rely on miss-quoting and imagined views that have very little truth in them - but they tend to shout the loudest on these forums, presumably in the belief that that will win the argument.
The COLOSS Group, SMARTBEES and EurBeST all seem to have a very similar message to BIBBA. I have also heard several world class bee scientists saying the same thing and at a recent talk by a large-scale Canadian bee farmer, who said he has given up importing bees and now selects the best from what he has got, which presumably you do not believe in, or you would be supporting BIBBA.
As I have said before, I respect the opinions of others, which I think is important, as we can all learn from each other. What I am not so keen on is when the views of others are misrepresented in an attempt to prove a point.
