So is compulsory registration on the way

[Swarm]

Weren't they considering taking EFB off the notifiable list?

 

[sansai]

Guys, should this go ahead, your missing the most IMPORTANT point.
DEFRA is most likely to be the ""licensing "" authority and they ALWAYS charge a fee !

 

[hiveabee]

Guys, should this go ahead, your missing the most IMPORTANT point.
DEFRA is most likely to be the ""licensing "" authority and they ALWAYS charge a fee !

Here Here

 

[MuswellMetro]

Can't see that should make a difference ... if you keep bees ... you register !

I'm not a great fan of even more legislation in an already over legislated society but if it comes (and it's not yet another way of raising stealth taxes by charging us for the privilige of throwing money at our hobby !) then so be it ... I know, in my area, that there are a couple of totally irresponsible (so called 'conventional' beekeepers) whose hives are the source point of EFB virtually every year. If registration also gave RBI's some power to do something about such people then it could be a good thing ...

Tin hat in place ....

know exactley were you are coming from, i live in an area with 76 reported cases of EFB in the last 15 years which is the highest in Greater london, How many belonged to a bbka affilalted memeber of a BKA 8 (4 from our BKA), so 68 EFB cases of who we have no records for and FERA will not tell us where the hives are to give them advice (Data protection act quoted as reason)BUT even if registration is compulsory, would they register and woulf FERA tell us, no

also found out the Bee inspectorate will be probable split from FERA as the York Bee research unit and rest of FERA will be privatised, so first Rothamsted Goes ,now York NBU

 

[TOBY-3652]

So is compulsory registration on the way ?

NO

 

[Summerslease]

Registration will come. That's why beebase was set up. There will be a fee of course, which will be used to pay for all the bee related expenditure which is currently paid for from general taxation. They will start paying the bee inspectors civil servants wages with final salary pensions and the fee will go up year after year.

All those who say they are in favour of a registration scheme should be careful what they wish for and not forget the law of unintended consequences.

 

[VEG]

Guess there will be lots pf applications when the sbi posts next come up

 

[cjhart2]

So who registers the feral hives or what will happen to the organic and no intervention keepers? It's another box ticking exercise we can manage without.

In France we have 2 systems . Siret for the commercial boys and that is for anybody selling honey to the public . The Numagrit is for the Family beekeeper , honey only for the immediate family . You have to have one or the other .
I can only say that the Numagrit does not cost me anything, all i have to do is send a yearly return in . The authorities have left me alone up to now , especially as a i am a natural / non- intervention beekeeper .

I have forgot the cross over point were you have to have a Siret but i think it is at 30 ish hives !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Here Here

Where?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Guys, should this go ahead, your missing the most IMPORTANT point.
DEFRA is most likely to be the ""licensing "" authority and they ALWAYS charge a fee !

yep, i would expect so,and i think it will come despite objections as the EU is requiring more and more info on Honey as it is "A product of an Animal" and they want all the same boxes ticked as milk, VMD approve medicants, Certified proper person selling this likes of Apiguard, No oxalicallowed (as per Fumidil b) and disease records of losses

 

[alanf]

I live in an area with 76 reported cases of EFB in the last 15 years which is the highest in Greater london, How many belonged to a bbka affilalted memeber of a BKA 8 (4 from our BKA), so 68 EFB cases of who we have no records for...

I understand the problem, but I can't see how compulsory registration would make any difference in a case like this. The inspector knows where the other 68 cases are, or they wouldn't be on the list. They may be registered. They may even be BKA members who don't want to announce they have EFB. That is an option open to them,

The inspectorate may need more powers to force treatment for an outbreak, even search for hives and prosecute those who obstruct. I can see the frustration of not knowing but a voluntary association has no more right to know where outbreaks are than any other individual. Making registration compulsory wouldn't change that.

 

[MuswellMetro]

The inspectorate may need more powers to force treatment for an outbreak, even search for hives and prosecute those who obstruct. I can see the frustration of not knowing but a voluntary association has no more right to know where outbreaks are than any other individual. Making registration compulsory wouldn't change that.

Agree , if it is £80 to register then more will go underground

but is it going to change? Most associations in the Middlesex Federation including yours are send more experienced beekeepers on expensive NBU/NBD Disease courses to act as the first line of defence once the SBI get cut back, so are the trained disease liason officers when an EFB outbreak occurs going to inspect only their own BKA's members and leave the non members?I dont know

 

[alanf]

...are the trained disease liaison officers when an EFB outbreak occurs going to inspect only their own BKA's members and leave the non members? I don't know

I thought the previous inspector (Alan Byham) was quite clear when asked, if there is an outbreak the inspectors still get involved. What changed is they do fewer precautionary inspections prompted only by the request of beekeepers. I think it's in some reports, the uncomfortable fact has been that most foul brood has been spotted first by inspectors. What those figures might suggest is that beekeepers just following around inspectors has not been effective training. The followers are either not spotting foul brood the next time or (I suspect) they are the conscientious beekeepers who are using precautions and therefore low risk anyway. If at least some (more extensively trained) individuals can be doing those routine inspections of low risk hives, that leaves the inspectors more time to deal with higher risk hives.

It's a cost saving for the inspectorate compared with paid inspectors doing all inspections, fair point. But a benefit as it stands could be more net inspections. Additional cost savings might lead to reductions in paid inspector numbers, but time to condemn that if it happens; I don't recall a specific reduction being announced. I also don't expect the facts to change that most foul brood will be first spotted by inspectors, they will be doing the high risk ones, previously infected apiaries and immediate neighbours of current outbreaks.

 

[simoncav]

Back onto the original point....

There is currently some new animal husbandry legislation being discussed by the EU that might require all livestock owners to be "registered" for food traceability and disease control purposes.

Bees are classed as livestock and therefore that might include beekeepers. However, its not law yet and may never even get through the various EU legal processes... Nothing to worry about yet.

 

[Pete D]

Maybe the subject of a poll.

Do you agree with compulsory registration ?

All mine are on bee base

 

[susbees]

All hives owned by the beeks in a shared apiary and any they may have elsewhere have to be covered if the S/RBI knows about them. If you under declare you total number of colonies, BDI won't pay out.

Average payout...around £40. Not worth the paper it's printed on IMHO. No get-out for the 1-3 but the rest is optional. No idea what the B scheme costs are which would apply to me in season anyhow.

Is a vertical AS one hive or two btw?

 

[user 6228]

Back onto the original point....

There is currently some new animal husbandry legislation being discussed by the EU that might require all livestock owners to be "registered" for food traceability and disease control purposes.

Bees are classed as livestock and therefore that might include beekeepers. However, its not law yet and may never even get through the various EU legal processes... Nothing to worry about yet.

The problem will not be the EU legislation but the UK implementation of it.
After Whitehall has gold plated the directive, they will make us pay for the for gold plating.

 

[susbees]

Where?

That's 1/4 post...how did you get to 7000, hmm...Might make the Welsh Convention this year, you shackled to the door again?

 

[susbees]

Dog owners used to have to get a dog licence but not now because the powers that be found it was to expensive to monitor.

So they've brought in compulsory micro-chipping instead. Get up to speed

As for compulsory registration: in NZ they were horrified at how many had slipped the net...

 

[user 6228]

See this to see where the rest of europe is on beekeeping.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0079018