NBA Logo       National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand

Home

Latest Documents

Animal Products

AFB Pest Management Systems

Varroa

Governance

Levy Consultation Process

Biosecurity

Industry Representation and Submission

Strategic Plan

Environment

Sustainable Farming Fund

Exotics

Biosecurity (National American Foulbrood Pest Management Strategy) Order 1998

1. Title and commencement
2. Interpretation

Strategy
3. National American Foulbrood Pest Management Strategy
4. Pest
5. Objectives of strategy
6. Management agency
7. Term of strategy
8. Powers used to implement strategy
9. Strategy rules

General Obligations
10. Obligation to supply information
11. Obligation to keep honey bees in moveable-frame hives
12. Exemption from obligation to keep honey bees in moveable-frame hives
13. Access to beehives
14. Restrictions on use of drugs

Notification of Places as Apiaries
15. Prohibition on keeping bees in place other than apiary
16. Transitional provision for notification of apiaries
17. Place may be notified as apiary
18. Seasonal apiaries
19. Allocation of identification code
20. Marking of apiaries
21. Removal of identification code
22. Use of marks similar to identification codes
23. Register of apiaries
24. Place ceasing to be apiary
25. Destruction of beehives posing risk
26. Notification of American foulbrood
27. Annual Disease Return
28. Obligation of beekeeper to destroy honey bees and materials
29. Prohibition on dealings with materials associated with American foulbrood
30. Exemptions for research, education, and training
31. Dealing with products from honey bee colony with American foulbrood

Inspection
32. Certificate of Inspection
33. Statement by person inspecting honey bee colonies
34. Obligation to notify beekeeper of American foulbrood case
35. Obligation to specify approved methods

Certificate of Inspection Exemption
36. Certificate of Inspection Exemption
37. Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement
38. Amendment of Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement by management agency
39. Review of Certificate of Inspection Exemption

Inspections and Audits
40. Inspections and audits

Funding and Compensation
41. Funding of strategy
42. Compensation


ORDER

1. Title and commencement
    (1) This order may be cited as the Biosecurity (National American Foulbrood Pest Management Strategy) Order 1998.

    (2) This order comes into force on 1 October 1998.

2. Interpretation
    (1) In this order, unless the context otherwise requires,

      "Act" means the Biosecurity Act 1993:

      "American foulbrood case" means a honey bee colony displaying any of the clinical symptoms of American foulbrood:

      "Apiary" means a place to which clause 16 applies or a place notified as an apiary in accordance with clause 17:

      "Appliance" means any beehive, comb, extractor, or other object, that is being or has been used in connection with beekeeping:

      "Authorised person" means a person appointed under section 103(1)(b) of the Act for the purposes of the strategy:

      "Bee product" means honey, honeydew honey, beeswax, venom, propolis, pollen, or royal jelly; and includes any other product collected by honey bees, derived from honey bees, or derived from a bee product:

      "Beehive" means a thing constructed for the keeping of honey bees and that is being used or has been used for that purpose; but does not include an introduction cage or a mailing cage:

      "Beekeeper" means a person who owns beehives:

      "Certificate of Inspection Exemption" means an exemption granted under clause 36:

      "Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement" means the document signed in accordance with clause 37:

      "Honey" means the fluid, viscous, or crystallised substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of blossoms or from secretions of or on, living parts of plants other than blossoms, which honey bees collect, transform, or combine with substances of their own, and store in combs:

      "Honey bee" means Apis mellifera; and includes its eggs, larvae, pupae, and semen.

      "Honey bee colony" means a group of honey bees living in a beehive, but does not include a queen honey bee and attendant worker honey bees for the time being held in a mailing cage or an introduction cage:

      "Identification code" means the code given to or used by a beekeeper in accordance with clause 19:

      "Introduction cage" means a cage used for introducing a queen honey bee to a beehive:

      "Mailing cage" means a cage used for transporting a queen honey bee and attendant worker honey bees:

      "Moveable-frame hive" means a beehive containing frames in which the combs are built, and where the frames may be separately and easily removed from the beehive for examination without causing damage to the combs.

    (2) Unless the context otherwise requires, terms and expressions used in this order have the same meaning as in the Act.

Strategy

3. National American Foulbrood Pest Management Strategy
    This order makes the National American Foulbrood Pest Management Strategy.

4. Pest
    The organism Paenibacillus larvae larvae, also known as Bacillus larvae, the cause of the disease known as American foulbrood, is the pest to be managed in accordance with the strategy.

5. Objectives of strategy 6. Management agency 7. Term of strategy
    The strategy remains in force until 30 September 2008.

8. Powers used to implement strategy 9. Strategy rules
    Clauses 10 to 40 contain the strategy rules.

General Obligations

10. Obligation to supply information
    (1) This clause applies to-

    (2) An authorised person may require a person to whom this clause applies to provide information held by that person that the authorised person believes, on reasonable grounds, is necessary for the purpose of monitoring the presence, former presence, absence, or distribution of Paenibacillus larvae larvae or the honey bee.

    (3) A person required to provide information in accordance with this clause must provide that information within the time specified by the authorised person.

    (4) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

11. Obligation to keep honey bees in moveable-frame hives
    (1) A person who keeps honey bees must keep those honey bees in moveable-frame hives.

    (2) A person who keeps honey bees and who has an exemption in accordance with clause 12 is exempt from the obligation in subclause (1) of this clause if those honey bees are kept in accordance with the exemption.

    (3) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

12. Exemption from obligation to keep honey bees in moveable-frame hives
    (1) An authorised person may exempt a person from the obligation in clause 11(1) if that person has applied in writing for an exemption and the exemption is required for 1 or more of the following purposes:

    (2) The exemption must given in writing and must specify the period of time for which the exemption applies and may specify conditions on which the exemption is granted.

13. Access to beehives
    (1) Every person in charge of the keeping of honey bees must ensure the normal access to honey bees, bee products, and appliances is kept free from vegetation that would impede or prevent inspection.

    (2) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

14. Restrictions on use of drugs
    (1) No person may use any drug, substance, or mixture of substances in relation to apiaries, honey bees, appliances, or bee products that has the effect of masking, obscuring, or concealing symptoms of American foulbrood or increasing the difficulty of detecting the disease or Paenibacillus larvae larvae.

    (2) The provisions of subclause (1) do not apply where a drug is used in accordance with an approval granted under section 25(2) of the Apiaries Act 1969.

    (3) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

Notification of Places as Apiaries

15. Prohibition on keeping bees in place other than apiary
    (1) No beekeeper may permit beehives owned by that beekeeper to be situated in a place for more than 30 consecutive days unless-

      (a) The provisions of clause 16 apply; or

      (b) That place has been notified as an apiary, in accordance with clause 17, by that beekeeper.

    (2) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

16. Transitions provision for notification of apiaries 17. Place may be notified as apiary
    (1) A place may be notified as an apiary by a beekeeper if-

      (a) One beehive or a group of beehives owned by the beekeeper is situated in that place; and

      (b) In the case of a group of beehives, each beehive within that group is situated 200 metres or less from another beehive owned by the same beekeeper.

    (2) Where the beehives in a place are owned by more than 1 beekeeper, that place must be notified as a separate apiary by each beekeeper.

    (3) The notification of an apiary must be in writing and must include the full name and address of the beekeeper and the number of honey bee colonies in the apiary, the name and initial of the occupier of the place where the apiary is situated, the road name (if any) and address of the place where the apiary is situated, and a written description of the location of the apiary, including a Land Information New Zealand Topographic Map 260 Series grid reference.

    (4) The notification must state whether the beehives are situated in the apiary for all of the calendar year or for specified months of the calendar year.

18. Seasonal apiaries 19. Allocation of identification code 20. Marking of apiaries 21. Removal of identification code 22. Use of marks similar to identification codes 23. Register of apiaries 24. Place ceasing to be an apiary 25. Destruction of beehives posing risk
    (1) Where-

    an authorised person may destroy the beehives and all honey bees, bee products, and appliances associated with those beehives.

    (2) Before action is taken under subclause (1), an authorised person must make reasonable attempts to find the owner of the beehives by-

      (a) Making inquiries, including inquiries of the occupier of the place where the beehives are situated; and

      (b) Fixing 1 weatherproof notice to 1 of the beehives instructing the owner to notify the management agency of that place as an apiary within 30 days of the date of the notice; and

      (c) Publishing a notice in a daily newspaper circulating in the place where the beehives are situated and a notice in the official journal of the management agency; and each notice must include the location of the beehives and an instruction to the owner of the beehives to notify the management agency of that place as an apiary within 30 days of the date of the last publication of that notice.

26. Notification of American foulbrood 27. Annual Disease Return
    (1) On or before 1 June in each year, every beekeeper must, for all beehives owned by that beekeeper, complete and send to the management agency an Annual Disease Return.

    (2) An Annual Disease Return must be in the form provided by or obtained from the management agency and must contain-

    (3) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

28. Obligation of beekeeper to destroy honey bees and materials 29. Prohibition on dealings with materials associated with American foulbrood 30. Exemptions for research, education, and training
    (1) The management agency may, by notice in writing, exempt any person from the obligations in clause 28, the prohibition in clause 29, or the prohibition in clause 31, for the purpose of research, education, or training relating to American foulbrood or Paenibacillus larvae larvae for such a time not exceeding 12 months and on such conditions as the management agency thinks fit.

    (2) The management agency may grant an exemption only if, in the opinion of the management agency, the exemption will not allow the exposure or spread of American foulbrood or Paenibacillus larvae larvae beyond the area specified in the exemption.

    (3) The management agency may at any time withdraw or amend the exemption-

      (a) If the management agency is satisfied on reasonable grounds-

        (i) That the conditions on which the exemption was granted have been breached; or

        (ii) That the exemption is resulting, is likely to result, or has resulted in the exposure or spread of American foulbrood or Paenibacillus larvae larvae beyond the area specified in the exemption; or

      (b) At the request of the holder of the exemption.

    (4) American foulbrood may be communicated, released, or spread for the purposes of section 52(a) of the Act in the circumstances set out in an exemption given under this clause.

31. Dealing with products from honey bee colony with American foulbrood
    (1) No person may transfer ownership or possession to any other person, or remove from the place where they are situated, any honey bees, bee products, or appliances associated with any honey bee colony where that person knows or suspects that the honey bee colony is or was displaying any of the clinical symptoms of American foulbrood.

    (2) A person is exempt from the prohibition in subclause (1) if that person-

    (3) An authorised person may grant consent only if, in the opinion of that authorised person, there is unlikely to be any significant risk of exposure or spread of American foulbrood to any beehives or honey bee colonies caused by the actions authorised by the consent.

    (4) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

Inspection

32. Certificate of Inspection 33. Statement by person inspecting honey bee colonies
    (1) Every authorised person, or person referred to in clause 32(2) who carries out an inspection under clause 32 must complete and sign a statement confirming-

      (a) That the inspection of the honey bee colonies was carried out by that person; and

      (b) the location (including the road name, if any, and the address of the place) of the honey bee colonies inspected; and

      (c) The number of honey bee colonies inspected in each place; and

      (d) The name and initial of the occupier of the place where the honey bee colonies are situated; and

      (e) The date of the inspection; and

      (f) The location and number of American foulbrood cases (if any) and the dates on which those cases (if any) were found; and

      (g) A record of the actions taken (if any) by the person inspecting, in respect of each American foulbrood case found.

    (2) A breach of this rule, without reasonable excuse, is an offence under section 154(q) of the Act.

34. Obligation to notify beekeeper of American foulbrood case 35. Obligation to specify approved methods

Certificate of Inspection Exemption

36. Certificate of Inspection Exemption 37. Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement 38. Amendment of Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement by management agency 39. Review of Certificate of Inspection Exemption

Inspections and Audits

40. Inspections and audits

Funding and Compensation

41. Funding of strategy 42. Compensation
    No compensation is payable by the management agency in respect of losses incurred as a direct result of the strategy.