Tuesday, 08 September 2020 06:25

Stung at border

Written by  Peter Burke
Apiculture NZ chief executive, Karin Kos. Apiculture NZ chief executive, Karin Kos.

Apiculture NZ is seeking assurances from authorities that the country’s beekeepers won’t be faced with the same problems that their Auckland colleagues did when that region went into lockdown.

Karin Kos, Apiculture NZ chief executive, says beekeepers in the Auckland region thought because they were classed as an essential industry during the first lockdown that they would have no trouble moving through the police checkpoints. However, this wasn’t the case.

Kos says it turned out that they had to apply for special exemptions from the Ministry of Health to get in or out of Auckland and it took about a week for these permits to materialise. She says the Ministry for Primary Industries was very helpful and managed to facilitate the permits.

“But it did take a week and fair amount of work to get the exemption in place,” Kos told Rural News

“We had beekeepers who had hives over the border and coming out of winter they needed to check that the bees were okay, well fed and ready for the honey season. They weren’t able to get to them.” 

Kos says now that they have worked through the process in Auckland, Apiculture NZ hopes that this will mean that in any future lockdowns there won’t be the same hassles.

More like this

Creating a buzz on World Bee Day

The message for the 2025 World Bee Day is a call to action for sustainable practices that support bees, improve food security, and protect biosecurity in the face of mounting climate pressures.

Honey industry group set to merge

A big shakeup in the honey sector is about to take place with the news that the industry good body, ApiNZ, and the export focused Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association are looking to merge to form a new industry body.

Beehive burning causes spat between apiarist and agency

The agency charged with controlling the serious bee disease American Foul Brood (AFB) has defended itself against criticism from a North Canterbury beekeeper who was recently ordered to destroy equipment following a find of AFB spores in his storage shed.

Featured

EPA Approves Beetle to Tackle Chilean Flame Creeper

Environment Southland is welcoming this week’s decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to approve the release of Blaptea elguetai, a leaf‑feeding beetle that will help control the highly invasive Chilean flame creeper.

Celebrating Women in NZ’s Potato Industry

This March, the potato industry is proudly celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March alongside the International Year of the Woman Farmer, recognising the vital role women play across every part of the sector — from paddocks and packhouses to research, leadership, and innovation.

National

Remediation NZ Fined $71k Over Compost Site Odours

Remediation NZ (RNZ) has been fined more than $71,000 for discharging offensive odours described by neighbours as smelling like ‘faecal and pig effluent’ from its compositing site near Uruti in North Taranaki. 

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Penny Pinching

OPINION: A mate of yours truly reckons rural Manawatu families are the latest to suffer under what he calls the…

New Order

OPINION: If old Winston Peters thinks building trade relations with new nations, such as India, isn't a necessary investment in…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter