HortNews
	Beekeepers Agree To Let Varroa-Treated Hives Into Hawke's Bay

WELLINGTON 10/09/2003 - Commercial apiarists in the New Zealand Bee Industry Group said today they would "reluctantly support" the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) proposal to allow the movement of treated hives into Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa.

Lobby chairman Milton Jackson said that MAF would move the control line which had been so far slowing the spread of varroa mites in the southern North Island.

"Beekeepers had hoped for more stringent controls around hive movements into the area, but have been told such controls created real technical difficulties for the ministry," he said.

There was a general agreement to protect the lower east coast of the North Island, he said in a statement.