Importation of bees

[Buzby]

So Bee Equipment owner is trying to import Italian colonies not just queens.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...baby-bees/ar-BB1djcgx?li=BBoPRmx&ocid=BHEA000

 

[mbc]

Don't panic, he's only looking to import "baby" bees.
Looks like he's going to test the system though, watch this space, it could get interesting!

 

[Apple]

What a load of hogwash..... or just journalistic jerrymongering for a good story

Baby bees.... no pollinators... mass extinction of the human race...
Einstein event as pollinating bees are banned from UK.

They are in business for one reason alone... PROFIT!

Not so funny when facing a custodial sentence... Laws are in place for a reason... to protect the public!

 

[Murox]

What a load of hogwash..... or just journalistic jerrymongering for a good story
Baby bees.... no pollinators... mass extinction of the human race...
Einstein event as pollinating bees are banned from UK.
They are in business for one reason alone... PROFIT!
Not so funny when facing a custodial sentence... Laws are in place for a reason... to protect the public!

Would that be to protect me from profiteering or honeybees ??

 

[Apple]

Would that be to protect me from profiteering or honeybees ??

Possibly from baby bees infected with Small Hive Beetle... or worse?
Would it be different if they were intending to bring 1000s of hand guns and ammunition .. or crystal meth into the UK???

 

[Ian123]

Well the EU think vaccines can come in from NI!!!so why not bees I very much doubt he’s going to jail they’ve made a story out of it for extra publicity. Imagine 12 importers ringing the office there just going to be put on hold. Now it’s a storey the press on the phone, that’s how you can try and get things done!......................................”They are in business for one reason alone... PROFIT!”.......................is that an issue.

 

[Apple]

Well the EU think vaccines can come in from NI!!!so why not bees I very much doubt he’s going to jail they’ve made a story out of it for extra publicity. Imagine 12 importers ringing the office there just going to be put on hold. Now it’s a storey the press on the phone, that’s how you can try and get things done!......................................”They are in business for one reason alone... PROFIT!”.......................is that an issue.

”They are in business for one reason alone... PROFIT!”.......................is that an issue.

The issue is that they are attempting to break the Law buy journalistic gobulism about killing thousands of "Little fluffy BABY bees"...... aaahhh... nasty Boris and his friends... how dare they!

Story will bee on Prime Time TV tonight no doubt!

 

[mbc]

”They are in business for one reason alone... PROFIT!”.......................is that an issue.

The issue is that they are attempting to break the Law buy journalistic gobulism about killing thousands of "Little fluffy BABY bees"...... aaahhh... nasty Boris and his friends... how dare they!

Story will bee on Prime Time TV tonight no doubt!

While being against bee imports in general for a few reasons, mainly biosecurity, I think the main issue here is the sneaky back door approach through Ireland almost trying to cause an issue whilst gaining an unfair commercial advantage over competitors who are biding their time and following the rules.
Of course, it could be that the other would be importers welcome the brave move of someone else putting their neck on the block to test the system to see what happens.

 

[Ian123]

I don’t think he’s breaking any laws yet and I would suggest he’s trying to work within it. He’s also very much highlighting what’s going on I suspect to resolve the issue. Imports won’t stop there will simply be an increase in queen numbers to cover the shortfall. Ian

 

[Into the lions den]

Ho hum........

Firstly...please stop being so bitter about profit....nobody making a kings ransom here....and if it were not for the ability to make a profit nothing would be available through the appliance trade and non beekeepers would be unable to buy honey in the shops...there is a world of difference between making a profit and profiteering.

However...this story is riddled with hyperbole...as is the normal when the press get hold of a story from our trade.

The legal situation about import of packages has been fairly clear for several months now. Myself and other importers paused the process to wait and see if there would be changes. There have been none and the legal position is now settled. No imported packages in 2021 unless there is a sudden last minute change by the UK govt. All the other importers held back, did not take deposits and did not give guarantees. Bee Equipment did the opposite, in the face of the evidence that this was not going to be allowed and have been trying hard to use the Northern Ireland loophole. It was never clear that this would be possible.

So here you have the situation now where they are using other tactics (including emotive wordings..like 'baby bees') to try to kick door open by railroading the the government.

Nobody else has taken beekeepers money and stuck their neck out financially as we saw the issues looming large. That Bee Equipment went the other way is not now the governments fault. They made a judgement call.......it MAY have been an error...but maybe they will still get away with it.

If they DO succeed they have outsmarted us all and well done.

If they fail it was a commercial decision and the loss suffered is down to the importers choices...and many of us make errors that cost us. Myself included. Thats the nature of business

Quite sure that, if the door is firmly closed that nobody is going to take the risk of a high profile import and then have it destroyed. The bees will never leave Italy...at least not for the UK.

If the government now relents and allow Bee Equipment to do this how does that play with all the other importers who have toed the line and accepted the rules? Will we cooperate with the authorities in future?...because allowing these imports at the expense of others is almost collusion against the people happy to be on your side.....this story has a bit of running to do. Meanwhile the bees are still a dream in a queen's ovaries...long time until they are even an egg...so there is abundant time to say 'stop' to the process and no bees ever need to be destroyed.

 

[Ian123]

As ever Murray a dose of common sense. The EU themselves clearly view this path as a possibility hence there recent actions , so they may well have a path in . When push comes to shove I doubt any bee importer has the time will or money to really test it, hence going to the press!

 

[Into the lions den]

What about this intrepid beekeeper on a mission to improve UK bee-stock: Beekeeper in Brexit row with UK government over threat to burn 15m baby bees

That's hyperbole too. They are bog ordinary Italian Buckfasts from Enzo Laterza in the deep south of Italy. Their benefit to the be stock in SE England will be minor. These are hive fillers rather than breeding stock.

 

[Mint Bee]

so from what I understand of the new importation regulations issued by the government in the Autumn of last year, queens imported to specific approved DEFRA inspection locations in the UK are allowed, if they are accompanied by appropriate health certificates (so potentially increased cost and delivery times)
Packages and Nucs are not permitted full stop at this point in time.

Is there any other interpretation of this position?

I'm assuming this also applies for importation of bumblebees for green house pollination?

 

[Erichalfbee]

so from what I understand of the new importation regulations issued by the government in the Autumn of last year, queens imported to specific approved DEFRA inspection locations in the UK are allowed, if they are accompanied by appropriate health certificates (so potentially increased cost and delivery times)
Packages and Nucs are not permitted full stop at this point in time.

Is there any other interpretation of this position?

I'm assuming this also applies for importation of bumblebees for green house pollination?

Sent you a link to look at

 

[user 20297]

If the Government had forced an end to importation of bees because of its concerns about the general health of bees or the gene diversity of bees, for some people, I think that this situation would be slightly easier to accept and understand.

Discussions about the actions or protestations of an individual company are a diversion from the real issue; this being that politicians and their influencers want us to step backwards into becoming a more insular and self-contained sovereignty in every respect. It's already affecting many other areas of our lives, albeit, none of them more important than beekeeping.

 

[ShinySideUp]

According to that font of all things trivial, The Daily Mail, a man trying to import 15 million baby bees may lose them due to Brexit rules.

The politics of this aside, what on Earth is a 'baby bee'?!

 

[tonyofarr]

It is also all over the bbc, you can read an article online. When I first read the headline I had a vision of load of wriggling larvae, but it is bee packages I think.

 

[Into the lions den]

If the Government had forced an end to importation of bees because of its concerns about the general health of bees or the gene diversity of bees, for some people, I think that this situation would be slightly easier to accept and understand.

Discussions about the actions or protestations of an individual company are a diversion from the real issue; this being that politicians and their influencers want us to step backwards into becoming a more insular and self-contained sovereignty in every respect. It's already affecting many other areas of our lives, albeit, none of them more important than beekeeping.

Its not even as sophisticated as that. The Christmas Eve agreement was no more than a political stunt with actually very little agreed. Net effect is that EU law in this matter simply rolled over into UK law. The EU is now a 'third country' so the bee import rules for third countries are now the UK position......so no packages or nucs or colonies on combs except for packages from NZ. Its not a bee health derived rule..its purely a matter of process and Brexit, and will eventually be replaced by new rules when an actual rather than ceremonial agreement is reached on bee matters.

 

[Ian123]

It is also all over the bbc, you can read an article online. When I first read the headline I had a vision of load of wriggling larvae, but it is bee packages I think.

As normal never mind the truth just make it interesting

 

[Apple]

As normal never mind the truth just make it interesting

As an aside on This Fishing Life... a program about Cornish Fishermen.... they said that brown crab from our waters was banned as an export to China due to high cadmium levels.... although more probably to do with the UKs critisism of China's dubious Human Rights. China was the biggest net importer of crabs from the UK

World has gone mad!