BBKA Welcomes National Audit Office Interest In Bees
Published Mar 4, 2009
PRESS RELEASE 4th March 2009
BBKA WELCOMES NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE INTEREST IN BEEKEEPING
The BBKA welcomes the interest the National Audit Office has shown in the problems facing the honey bee population in the UK as detailed in its report The health of livestock and honey bees issued today. The report highlights the potential losses to UK agriculture that would arise if the honey bee population continued to decline.
The single most important threat to honey bees over the past few years has been the spread of the Varroa mite that has contributed to the decline in the numbers of bee colonies, and the practical eradication of the wild bee colonies. The report notes that the strategies adopted in the past failed to prevent the pest becoming endemic. This coupled with the lack of licensed medication to combat the varroa mite has resulted in beekeepers having great difficulty in maintaining managed colonies.
The report recognises the part played by the National Bee Unit in providing training to beekeepers, but equally suggests that more can be done in this area. During 2008 we estimate that over 3,500 people started beekeeping in England and Wales and early indications are that this number will be higher in 2009. The BBKA feels very strongly that the only effective way to educate this number of people is to make the training of beekeepers more formal and to provide some of the increased funding recently announced into a joint training programme. This would involve both the NBU inspectors and the hundreds of local beekeeping associations throughout the country who currently provide the majority of the training of beekeepers.
The BBKA is pleased to note that the questioning of beekeepers by the NAO concluded that they were willing to work with inspectors and valued their input in identifying disease.
Defra has recently announced increased funding for bee health and the BBKA feels it would be a missed opportunity if the majority of this funding were to be allocated to the recording of the decline of honeybee numbers by the NBU rather than being spent on research into the underlying causes. Martin Smith, Chairman of the BBKA said “We look forward to a closer consultative relationship with DEFRA and the NBU and expect financial and practical support from the NBU in training beekeepers to apply better husbandry techniques needed to combat the threat to the UK honey bee population”.
Ends
For further information contact:
Martin Smith, BBKA Chairman
Tel: 07831 695732
Email: ormskirk_beekeepers@hotmail.com