martes, 1 de febrero de 2011

Resoluciones sobre abejas africanizadas y temas sanitarios (ingles)

http://nbba.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/aia-speaks-up-about-american-beekeeping-issues/


EE.UU. - RESOLUCIONES DE LOS INSPECTORES DE COLMENAS


African Honey Bees

First: The recent introduction of AHB into Georgia threatens a major honey bee package and queen production industry in the United States , threatening the confidence of that industry to meet the demand for gentle honey bee queens and package bees for both commercial and small scale beekeepers.

In order to meet the demand for honey bee production, the Apiary Inspectors of America do resolve:

1. The United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) or USDA-APHIS PPQ identify and determine that the Africanized Honey bee subspecies is a pest to European lines of honey bees traditionally managed in the United States, and a threat to both human and animal health. AIA members believe that such a declaration will allow states to take appropriate steps to regulate the AHB subspecies as a pest.

2. The USDA-ARS shall develop AHB detection techniques to replace the cumbersome USDA-ID identification tool. Among techniques to be recommended are the “Small SNP Array” being developed by Dr. Jay Evans of USDA-ARS, and the “Identification of Africanized Honey Bees through Wing Morphometrics” being developed by Dr. David DeJong. Both of these techniques show promise to provide accurate and time efficient determination where the identification of AHB is needed.

3. As the USDA-ARS evaluates new techniques for AHB determination, the AIA agrees to assist in the dissemination of training on these techniques to member states.

Baseline Survey

Second: The U.S. beekeeping industry is vulnerable to exotic pests and the USDA should take stricter measures to prevent their introduction. But first, a baseline of honey bee diseases, parasites and other pests of honey bees must be established to adhere to international policy and trade agreements in order to restrict movement of honey bees into the U.S.

The Apiary Inspectors urgently request USDA, both APHIS and ARS, to fund and continue to implement surveys of honey bee colonies not only for Tropilaelaps clareae, but for virus complexes, varroa species and their variants as well as other organisms capable of adversely affecting honey bee health. Such survey should continue to utilize current infrastructure among cooperating state agencies to collect and prepare samples for USDA analysis. Assuming state cooperation, AIA requests that adequate funding be approved for this much needed baseline survey which began in 2009.

Restricting Imports

Third: The Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) appreciates the action taken by USDA-APHIS to close the United States border to further introduction of honeybee queens and packages from Australia . Surveys conducted by USDA-APHIS and AIA members show that the Apis cerana honey bee and Slow Paralysis Virus which has been reported in Australia do not occur in the US .

At the same time AIA would like to express concern that APHIS is giving consideration to allowing honey bee importation from Argentina , Brazil and/or Chile .

Imported honeybees have been used to supplement domestic honey bees for almond pollination in California . However, the market is relatively small while the risk of introducing a new bee pathogen when most of the US bees are in California could have widespread consequences. With US bee losses of 32-35% attributed to viruses and other pathogens it would be careless to introduce a new problem.

AIA Wants:

1) USDA-APHIS PPQ protect American agriculture by keeping our borders closed to honey bee introductions until such time as science can identify the impact of viruses and other pathogens to beekeeping.

2) That USDA-APHIS PPQ enter into trade discussions with North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) members encouraging NAPPO to unilaterally protect North American beekeeping from the risk of pathogen introduction into North America – especially NAPPO members to agree to uniform arguments on acceptance of queen bees and packages into NAPPO member states.



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