The final
phase of the varroa management programme has culminated in a
proposal for keeping the South Island free of this
destructive bee pest.
Members of the public are invited
to make submissions on the Varroa National Pest Management
Strategy proposal, which incorporates movement controls on
risk items such as bee keeping equipment, public education
measures and an extensive surveillance programme.
Fiona
Hutchinson, Policy Analyst with the Ministry of Agriculture
and Forestry (MAF), said that the proposed strategy measures
were developed to prevent the bee mite from spreading to the
South Island and to help ensure its early detection. The
Government would fund an incursion response programme should
varroa ever arrive in the South Island.
The Varroa
Planning Group, made up of representatives from the bee
keeping, agriculture and horticulture sectors, has over the
last three years developed a long-term management programme
for varroa.
“It has been a difficult process with some
dissension, but MAF believes that the potential benefits of
the proposed strategy for the South Island are significant,”
she said
The proposed strategy will be funded by South
Island regional councils and unitary authorities and a hive
levy paid by South Island beekeepers.
The closing date for
submissions is Friday 30 January 2004 and should be sent to
the Minister of Agriculture, c/- Tricia Caughley, Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry, PO Box 2526, Wellington.
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