The Government is progressing long-signalled updates to the National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan, based on proposals developed and consulted on by the beekeeping industry.
Biosecurity Minister, Andrew Hoggard said American foulbrood remains one of the biggest biosecurity challenges facing New Zealand’s apiculture sector, which is worth around $426 million a year in exports and provides pollination services the wider primary sector relies on.
“The current plan has served New Zealand well since 1998. These changes are not a major redesign. They are sensible, industry-driven improvements that will help find and contain the disease more quickly,” said Minister Hoggard.
“They include better identification of bee colonies and laboratory samples, improved reporting when hive ownership changes, and stronger compliance tools for repeated breaches. Education and support will remain the first response in most cases, and the changes have been designed to keep extra costs and paperwork for beekeepers down.
“I’ve previously said levy payers need a strong voice in how the plan is delivered, and I’m pleased to see the sector taking steps on that. I look forward to working with the new chairs of Honey and Bees NZ and the NZ Bee Health and Biosecurity, and the wider industry, as these changes are put in place.”
American foulbrood is a bacterial disease that affects honeybee larvae and requires infected hives to be destroyed.
