There’s fears hobbyist beekeepers are threatening the industry as a highly infectious beehive disease continues to spread through the Tararua town of Dannevirke.
American foulbrood, commonly known as AFB, has led beekeepers in the region to burn their hives.
The fatal disease is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae.
Apiary auditor Tom Taylor told 1News leaving infected hives alone would worsen its spread.
“Eventually it would die, and then other bees in the area would come along and rob this hive out, and that would then spread the infection to other hives around,” he explained.
Taylor said it’s “very vital” for beekeepers – particularly those who export honey – to register their beehives.
“Some countries are already asking for tests to check to see if there’s AFB in the honey and if there’s any AFB spores in the honey, they will not accept the honey so that has an effect economy-wise as well,” he said.
All beekeepers in New Zealand are legally required to register their hives which helps the national body responsible for controlling the disease. If a case of AFB is detected, the beekeepers have seven days to destroy the hive by fire.
It can be a heartbreaking process for many of the owners.
Local beekeeper Chris Bone, who said his bees were like his pets, recently burnt all of his remaining hives.
“I cried for a day – it’s just horrible,” he said.
“You kill your bees by pouring petrol into them. The noise in the hive as the bees are dying, you’ve got to do it at night so that all the bees are home in the hive.”
There have been approximately 1574 cases of the disease detected nationwide so far this financial year, according to the American Foulbrood National Pest Management Plan Agency. In just a few weeks, seven cases were reported in Dannevirke as authorities race to locate the source.
While AFB typically spreads within a 1km radius, the cases in Dannevirke have been widespread. Experts believe it may be due to an unregistered owner with multiple sites or disregarded sites who were unaware of what AFB looks like.
AFB Management Agency’s Niharika Long said registering hives was the best tool to manage the outbreak.
“There are other beekeepers, unfortunately, in our sector who aren’t registered with us and they pose a real risk to everyone else and they undermine the collective effort of the industry,” she said.
Long said registering hives “opens the doors for us to reach out to you, give you the right advice on managing this disease”.
“In the event of an AFB case popping up nearby, our protocol is to deploy our apiary inspectors to inspect the immediate apiaries nearby.”
