Jump to content
Reynard

Honey bees under threat! - Downing St. Petition

Recommended Posts

I have cut & pasted this from the Bee Craft website. Bees are so essential I hope you will give up a few minutes to support the petition.

 

Tell all your friends!

 

Thanks

 

Given the scale of unexplained and unusual colony losses in the US and Europe and the discovery of Nosema ceranae in the UK, Bee Craft are supporting the appeal for a reasonable allocation of funds for beekeeping research. If you would like to register your support you may like to sign this petition to the government found at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BeeResearch On April 13th there were 1497 signatures. Please add your signature before June 11th.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is the full explanation from the Government website..

 

The British Beekeeping Association has requested £8m for the government to fund 5 years research into Colony Collapse Disorder. The government has stated that no funds exist within the existing farming research budget.

 

Kept honey bees provide a significant percentage of pollination to food crops, fruit orchards and of course provide honey.

 

Colony Collapse Disorder is a disease which has affected hives in the US and has been reported in France, Germany and Italy. Its entry into the UK is most likely inevitable.

 

This fundamental research needs to be performed in order to protect the country bees before it arrives. As in almost all cases, being prepared for something reduces its impact for a fraction of the cost compared to being unprepared.

 

Currently only £1.35m per annum is available to the National Bee Unit (part of Defra), this funds all its statutory activities as well as research. If there is no money in the farm research budget, then money should be made available from contingency funds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks to everyone who has signed.

 

It is possible that Colony Collapse Disorder is linked with the activities of a mite called varroa destructor.

 

The mite is an alien to Europe so our bees have no defence against it. It's also getting immune from the chemical treatments which is worrying.

 

Try this link for some photos of the mite on the developing bees..

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_destructor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...