DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (News Release ref:
52/09) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 9 March 2009
Defra and the
Welsh Assembly Government have today published 'Healthy
Bees', a plan to protect and improve the health of honey bees
in England and Wales.
The ten year plan was drafted in consultation with beekeeping
organisations and aims to sustain honey bee populations by
supporting beekeepers to ensure effective biosecurity measures are
adopted to minimise risk from pests and disease.
This follows an investment of an extra £4.3 million to gather
more information from beekeepers and undertake more research into
the health of bees, announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn
in January. Of this, £2 million over five years will contribute
to a new research programme on pollinators, which is currently
being developed with other funding partners.
The first stage of the plan will attempt to identify and make
contact with perhaps as many as 20,000 amateur beekeepers to make
sure that they are aware of the need to alert the National Bee
Unit (NBU) to bee health problems and encourage them to register
on BeeBase, its beekeepers database. This will help ensure that
any new or existing health problems are identified.
The last two years have seen recorded losses of between 10 to 15
per cent in bee numbers although it is possible that real losses
are significantly higher due to the number of beekeepers not in
contact with the NBU.
Honey bees contribute directly to local food production and make
an important contribution, through pollination, to improving the
yield of some crops. They are susceptible to a variety of disease
and environmental threats, some of which have increased
significantly over the last five to 10 years.
Launching the plan today, Environment Minister Jane Kennedy said:
"Bees are just about the most hard working of insects. They
help put food on our plates as they produce honey and pollinate
other plants, many of which produce food themselves. We need to do
all we can to safeguard the health of honey bees. This plan is a
blueprint for doing that.
"The first step is to improve our contacts with all
beekeepers so that we can ensure they take advantage of the free
inspection and diagnostic services that the bee unit and its
dedicated team of inspectors and scientists provide.
"That will help us pick up existing and emerging bee health
problems and deal with them effectively."
The plan describes the five main things we want to achieve,
working with individual beekeepers, their associations and other
stakeholders. These are:
1. To keep pests, diseases and other hazards to the lowest levels achievable.
2. To promote good standards of husbandry to minimise pest and
disease risks and contribute to sustaining honey bee populations -
prevention is better than cure.
3. To encourage effective biosecurity to minimise risk from
pests, diseases and undesirable species.
4. To ensure that sound science underpins bee health policy and
its implementation.
5. To get everyone to work together on bee health.
The plan also identifies the distinct roles and responsibilities
of Government, beekeepers, their associations and other
stakeholders in achieving these aims. A strengthened partnership,
involving all interested parties, is essential if current and
evolving threats to bee health are to be successfully identified
and addressed.
Action to implement the plan will now be taken forward in
consultation with beekeepers' representatives.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. 'Healthy Bees' is available online at http://www.defra.gov.uk/hort/Bees/wnew.htm.
2. 'Healthy Bees' was launched after public
consultation. Details of the consultation can be found: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/bee-health/index.htm
3. Defra recently announced new funding to help implement the
plan. See the details: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090121a.htm
4. The NBU maintains a voluntary database of active beekeepers
called BeeBase. Beekeepers that are not registered with BeeBase
are strongly encouraged to get in touch with the NBU online at
https://secure.csl.gov.uk/beebase/ or on 01904 462510.
Registration is free and provides the beekeeper with a free visit
from their local bee inspector and access to a wide range of
information on their craft.
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website http://www.defra.gov.uk
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