Bulletguy Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Yet another mind blowing 'achievement' from Batty Brexit. *-) A beekeeper trying to bring 15 million bees into the UK says he has been told they may be seized and burned because of post-Brexit laws. Patrick Murfet wants to import the baby Italian bees for his Kent business and to help farmers pollinate valuable crops. But new laws that came into effect after the UK left the single market mean that bringing bees into the country is banned. Since the end of the transition period, only queen bees can be imported into Great Britain, rather than colonies and packages of bees. He is managing director of Bee Equipment, based near Canterbury, and every year he imports large numbers of bees from breeders in Italy, where the climate is warmer. For decades, bees have been imported to replenish stocks, strengthen breeding lines and as early-awakening pollinators for fruit and honey farms in the UK. But the new ban could put this in jeopardy. He said: ‘It’s a monumentally stupid situation for a country supposed to be standing on its own two feet and exporting round the world.’ In an effort to avoid the import ban and abide by the new laws, Mr Murfet arranged for his usual importation of 15 million bees to arrive via Northern Ireland in April, but said he has been told they may be destroyed if he tries. tinyurl.com/3mb6dto2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I would like to hope for you that this does not apply to tea as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 On the other hand, an item from a bee keeping forum - Firstly...please stop being so bitter about profit....nobody making a kings ransom here....and if it were not for the ability to make a profit nothing would be available through the appliance trade and non beekeepers would be unable to buy honey in the shops...there is a world of difference between making a profit and profiteering. However...this story is riddled with hyperbole...as is the normal when the press get hold of a story from our trade. The legal situation about import of packages has been fairly clear for several months now. Myself and other importers paused the process to wait and see if there would be changes. There have been none and the legal position is now settled. No imported packages in 2021 unless there is a sudden last minute change by the UK govt. All the other importers held back, did not take deposits and did not give guarantees. Bee Equipment did the opposite, in the face of the evidence that this was not going to be allowed and have been trying hard to use the Northern Ireland loophole. It was never clear that this would be possible. So here you have the situation now where they are using other tactics (including emotive wordings..like 'baby bees') to try to kick door open by railroading the the government. Nobody else has taken beekeepers money and stuck their neck out financially as we saw the issues looming large. That Bee Equipment went the other way is not now the governments fault. They made a judgement call.......it MAY have been an error...but maybe they will still get away with it. If they DO succeed they have outsmarted us all and well done. If they fail it was a commercial decision and the loss suffered is down to the importers choices...and many of us make errors that cost us. Myself included. Thats the nature of business Quite sure that, if the door is firmly closed that nobody is going to take the risk of a high profile import and then have it destroyed. The bees will never leave Italy...at least not for the UK. If the government now relents and allow Bee Equipment to do this how does that play with all the other importers who have toed the line and accepted the rules? Will we cooperate with the authorities in future?...because allowing these imports at the expense of others is almost collusion against the people happy to be on your side.....this story has a bit of running to do. Meanwhile the bees are still a dream in a queen's ovaries...long time until they are even an egg...so there is abundant time to say 'stop' to the process and no bees ever need to be destroyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpstart Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 mtravel - 2021-02-02 5:03 PM I would like to hope for you that this does not apply to tea as well. Have you not tried smoking it yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpstart Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Surely all you need is a Queen bee.......and she will do the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 jumpstart - 2021-02-02 5:44 PM Surely all you need is a Queen bee.......and she will do the rest. Bit more to it than that as this explains you need a colony or swarm but can get your bees for free......assuming you know what you're doing. https://wildflowermeadows.com/2019/04/starting-a-beehive-without-buying-bees/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Tracker - 2021-02-02 5:06 PM On the other hand, an item from a bee keeping forum - Firstly...please stop being so bitter about profit....nobody making a kings ransom here....and if it were not for the ability to make a profit nothing would be available through the appliance trade and non beekeepers would be unable to buy honey in the shops...there is a world of difference between making a profit and profiteering. However...this story is riddled with hyperbole...as is the normal when the press get hold of a story from our trade. The legal situation about import of packages has been fairly clear for several months now. Myself and other importers paused the process to wait and see if there would be changes. There have been none and the legal position is now settled. No imported packages in 2021 unless there is a sudden last minute change by the UK govt. All the other importers held back, did not take deposits and did not give guarantees. Bee Equipment did the opposite, in the face of the evidence that this was not going to be allowed and have been trying hard to use the Northern Ireland loophole. It was never clear that this would be possible. So here you have the situation now where they are using other tactics (including emotive wordings..like 'baby bees') to try to kick door open by railroading the the government. Nobody else has taken beekeepers money and stuck their neck out financially as we saw the issues looming large. That Bee Equipment went the other way is not now the governments fault. They made a judgement call.......it MAY have been an error...but maybe they will still get away with it. If they DO succeed they have outsmarted us all and well done. If they fail it was a commercial decision and the loss suffered is down to the importers choices...and many of us make errors that cost us. Myself included. Thats the nature of business Quite sure that, if the door is firmly closed that nobody is going to take the risk of a high profile import and then have it destroyed. The bees will never leave Italy...at least not for the UK. If the government now relents and allow Bee Equipment to do this how does that play with all the other importers who have toed the line and accepted the rules? Will we cooperate with the authorities in future?...because allowing these imports at the expense of others is almost collusion against the people happy to be on your side.....this story has a bit of running to do. Meanwhile the bees are still a dream in a queen's ovaries...long time until they are even an egg...so there is abundant time to say 'stop' to the process and no bees ever need to be destroyed. Is this what Brexiteers voted for though? So far they don't seem to have got anything what they wanted, apart from blue passports.....which are being made in the EU. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpstart Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Not much point doing all that with the insecticides we're using in the countryside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 mtravel - 2021-02-02 5:03 PM I would like to hope for you that this does not apply to tea as well. So just how many tea plantations do you have in Italy (?) .......... (lol) (lol) (lol) ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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