The following statement was issued today from Provincial Apiarist, Karen Kennedy.

“The importation of honeybees to Newfoundland and Labrador can occur, but would only be approved under rare and exceptional circumstances, with extremely rigorous inspection and quarantine protocols. Such importation would never occur unless the importation stock is certified-free from Varroa. The only source for this stock is Western Australia.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognizes the disease-free status of Western Australian honey bees and considers this population essential to the future of world honey bee populations.

As the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador seeks a certified Varroa-free/disease-free status for its honey bees, it would not be prudent to not accept other jurisdictions as ‘disease-free’ or ‘Varroa-free.’

Without this mutual acceptance of certified disease-free areas, it is unlikely that the province would ever acquire the disease-free certification that it desires.

Without this mutual acceptance, commercial apiarists in Newfoundland and Labrador would not be able to restock their colonies in the unfortunate event commercial beekeepers suffer a loss that they cannot achieve restocking with local honey bees (overwinter colony mortality, rodent damage, etc.).

If a commercial beekeeper did submit an importation request, and it was determined that the need for importation was warranted, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, under the current legislation, can provide a permit for importation. This is an extremely meticulous, secure and careful process, facilitated with and approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The Government of Canada, through the CFIA, certifies the importation of Western Australia honey bees and oversees these importations.

Rigorous protocols are strictly adhered to, through a permitting process (in tandem with CFIA), followed by a twelve-month quarantine from the date of entry, rigorous inspections during the quarantine protocol, and a final inspection one calendar year after the date of importation. Inspections are currently conducted by the Provincial Apiarist.

As the Provincial Apiarist, it is my opinion that this process is sound and I am advising the Provincial Government to maintain its current policy under established parameters.”

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Media contact
Linda Skinner
Fisheries and Land Resources
709-637-2284, 632-8167
lindaskinner@gov.nl.ca