Australian Bees banned from US

[AllenF]

If I can't ship there, I don't want them here....

We need to have that law for all items, to all countries.   It may help out the trade problems with Asia.

[hardwood]

Did I mention we have good ole American (ized) God fearin', apple pie lovin' bees for sale?

Good attitude Bjorn!

Scott

[Pete]

US animal import rules seem silly to me. On one hand you have people buying an unchecked amount of pythons (and other exotic pets) and releasing them into what is now an established wild feral population and on the other you dont want bees from what is widely thought to be one of the best pest free sources of euro bees on the planet.

We aren immune to stupid import rules. We have the only desease free atlantic salmon in the world and our stupid previous Gov removed restriction of live salmon import from places with known desease to get free trade agreements off the ground.

My point, lots of this stuff is often more political than sensible or scientific.

[Mardak]

We do not have Varoa yet. I can appreciate why the Aussie quarantine laws are like they are. We have the same type of import bans between Western Australia and Victoria due to disease control.

[bugleman]

The Aussies have pests gaining a foot hold that we do not want.  We have imported enough pests already.

[Mardak]

Given the value the US dollar and the AU dollar it would be much better for local US beeks to sell packages to each other rather than import from other countries. Good luck in the future. We are all as one on this earth. I do wish we find a cure for Varoa very soon.

[AllenF]

Ain't the US dollar and the AUS dollar about even now?  (with our falling value)

[bailey]

looks my plans to start producing queens and nucs is right on time!!
i start making the wodenware at the end of the month!

bailey

[OzBuzz]

The Aussies have pests gaining a foot hold that we do not want.  We have imported enough pests already.

Such as?

[mathew]

The Aussies have pests gaining a foot hold that we do not want.  We have imported enough pests already.

If you have ever been to Australia and go into the hives of friendly beekeepers, you will be relieved to see that they do not have varroa and other stinky pest like SHB that we have here in N. America. Australia has every right to be  protective of their bees from N. American ones. I am relieved that there is a place on earth where bees don't have Varroa.

I told my beekeeper friend in Melbourne before going into his hive that I have a trained eye for Varroa and will check if his hives has any. He told me that if I found one mite, the media and all Aussie journalists will be flooding his apiary and it will be headline news in Australia. I wished I was in his situation about mites.

[AllenF]

They do have SHB down under.

[BjornBee]

The claim may be hard to prove, but the basis for comments are justified and true.

Fact is, very little until CCD came around was done in the sense of looking at viral and bacterial issues with bees. There was never funding ever close to seriously look at and discover all the possible disease factors that are potentially there.

I think anyone, in light of the many pests already spread around the world and detrimental to bees, who stands and even remotely suggests that further harm or spread of disease is not possible....is either very uneducated, or is very foolish.

I find it ironic that people from one country that bans the importation of honey bees, and suggests that importation into another country is seemingly without risk, would even suggest so. You can not guarantee that some unknown disease would not be spread. But I could show you many that have already been spread.

In every corner of agriculture where one plant, animal or insect has been flown across the oceans, disease and destruction of the native habitat follows.

I will applaud the day that bee imports are banned.

[OzBuzz]

They do have SHB down under.

You don't have SHB in the USA?

[AllenF]

Just not ones that speak with an Aussie accent.     They might confuse our beetles. 

[tecumseh]

uh huh... so there is a government program (and an implied subsidy via a reduction in supply) with which my conservative brethren can get behind.  how refreshing.  one might suspect since the same folks will benefit by this subsidy directly that the $$$ has somewhat altered their purest 'free market*' inclinations.

it is my understanding that 'the ban' is under consideration...  so at this time nothing is really decided.

*I have absolutely no idea what the term means since the same folks will often tell you nothing in life is free.

[AllenF]

But ain't the potential Aussie ban because if Apis Cerana, and the problems with it?

[BjornBee]

But ain't the potential Aussie ban because if Apis Cerana, and the problems with it?

That is, or may be, the one source justification. But the benefits will be many. The day we stop importing problems in from around the world, we all benefit.  Can you imagine beekeeping without v-mites, t-mites, SHB, and the other newly arrived disease. To bad we always start the process a few diseases too late.

[AllenF]

I heard on the radio that Georgia is now getting over run with some type of stink bug that is from south America.  Maybe stop all imports?   (Including oil to stop other problems?)

[Mardak]

Apis cerana is an absolute pill. Active monitoring and destruction may not get rid of this pest. The top end of QLD is doing its bit but there is still lots to do. Came into Australia through the mast of an Asian ship and was detested up there for quite a while. I am all for stopping both importation and export due to real threats for all beekeepers in all countries.

[OzBuzz]

But ain't the potential Aussie ban because if Apis Cerana, and the problems with it?

But the only problem, that i know of, with A. cerana is varroa - which you guys already have? We here in Australia don't have it yet