Who do I notify of an abandoned hive

[Josh]

I think there are beekeepers walking away from their hives and that’s causing them to collapse with surrounding healthy hives robbing and bringing home heaps of mites.

we were told of an abandoned site recently very close to one of our apiaries. 9 hives only one alive hopefully there’s no AFB lurking in any of them.

Quick off topic, for us relative newbees. If we discover or suspect an abandoned hive, who do you notify?

 

[Otto]

Quick off topic, for us relative newbees. If we discover or suspect an abandoned hive, who do you notify?

Contact | The Management Agency, National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan New Zealand

Contact The Management Agency General Inquiries Free Phone: 0800 AFB PMP (0800 232 767) Email: info@afb.org.nz POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 88 Rolleston 7643 SOUTH ISLAND OFFICE: (postal address above) Unit 1B, 35 Illinois Drive Rolleston 7614 Niharika (Niha) Long General Manager (National Compliance...

afb.org.nz

 

[frazzledfozzle]

If the hive/hives have no AFB there’s nothing the agency can do about it.
they just get left to rot into the ground

 

[bighands]

If the hive/hives have no AFB there’s nothing the agency can do about it.
they just get left to rot into the ground

Yes, I guess you are correct.As long as they put in an ADR and next year they say the apiary does not exist with all boxes rotted and no live bees or AFB

 

[Alastair]

If an unregisteredf apiary is reported it will be visited by an AP2 and checked for AFB. A notice to register will be left under a lid, giving the beekeeper 30 days to register or his hives may be destroyed.

It is normally possible to locate the owner by talking to the landowner, and in that case the beekeeper will just be told to register. But if the beekeeper cannot be ID'ed the apiary may be destroyed.

 

[John B]

As long as the site is registered then it is not technically abandoned even if all hives are dead.
No one is happy about the situation and I believe moves are being made to try and change this. In the meantime unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about these sites apart from perhaps having a quiet word with the landowner who does have the power to get the beekeeper to remove his dead hives.
One easy solution would be to automatically deregister sites that have not had live hives in them in the last 12 months.