Scottish Beekeepers Association - Message From Scottish Bee Health Inspectorate

Scottish Beekeepers' Association
Supporting Scotland's Bees and Beekeepers

Scotland's New Honey Bee Health Strategy For 2022-2032

The Strategy was published on the 30th of June, and has been developed in conjunction with the Bee Health Improvement Partnership (BHIP). It has taken into account the review of the previous strategy and the results of the recent Scottish Government honey bee health survey. To download the Strategy please click here or on the image above.

Its main aim is “Working in partnership to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees in Scotland”.

The strategy details five pillars which will outline the ways of working which we will base our actions over the next 10 years:

1. Education, Training and Knowledge Transfer

2. Communication and partnership working across government, operational partners, stakeholders and all of those with an interest in honey bees in Scotland

3. Pest and Disease surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, and control

4. Research and Development.

5. On-going review of the regulatory framework

The Strategy will be the overarching document which will be accompanied by an Implementation Plan. This will be a ‘living’ document detailing more specifically the actions which the BHIP will deliver in order to achieve the desired outcomes for honey bee health in Scotland. The Plan will be updated regularly following quarterly BHIP meetings and published on the Scottish Government website on our Bee Health pages.

Additional background information and previous publications:

· Scotland’s first 10 year Honey Bee Health Strategy (Published June 2010)

· Review of the first 10 year strategy (Published October 2021)

· Honey Bee Heath Strategy Survey Report 2022 (Published March 2022)

Any additional questions should be directed to the Scottish Government’s Bee Health Team at: Bees_mailbox@gov.scot

Message From Scottish Bee Health Inspectorate

Scotland’s first minister called on Monday night for an effective “lock down” in order to flatten the curve of Covid-19 spread and to protect the NHS. Full advice on guidance can be found on the Scottish Government website https://www.gov.scot/
At the Scottish Bee Health Inspectorate, we are working hard in order to ensure that we continue to provide the support required to the Scottish beekeeping community. This is a very fast-moving situation and we plead you to continue to monitor advice. At the forefront of our thoughts is the health and well-being of our inspectors and colleague beekeepers across Scotland.
With the current measures and risks to public health, we regret to announce that our popular bee health awareness days, talks, education program and any other engagement activities carried out by the Scottish Bee Health Inspectorate are cancelled until further notice.

Bee Health Inspections are considered essential activity within Scottish Government; however, we have uncertainty about what we will be able to deliver based on restrictions and health advice for our bee inspectors and beekeepers. It is therefore more important than ever that the beekeeping community, both hobbyist and commercials, take responsibility for the health of their bees by ensuring good management and bio-security practices.
Any suspicions of notifiable diseases or pests must continue to be reported on the usual manner through the bees_mailbox@gov.scot
We would like to suggest to local beekeeping associations that they consider how they can support those confined or unable to attend their bees at this difficult time for all of us.
Scottish Government is working with England and Wales in producing guidance and advice on Covid-19 impact on beekeeping. This will be published in the next coming days.