Coalition wants beekeeping license for amateur beekeepers at federal level

Thousands of people keep bees in Lower Saxony.

But some of them are not organized in an association.

That can be problematic.

Hanover - Hobby beekeepers should in future have to prove their basic knowledge in dealing with bee colonies nationwide.

This is what the coalition in Lower Saxony demands at the federal level, as can be seen from a corresponding application that will be discussed in the state parliament on Wednesday.

Accordingly, basic knowledge in dealing with bee colonies should be demonstrated with a corresponding beekeeping certificate.

“With our motion for a resolution, we would like to define the requirements for this certificate of competence in a uniform manner at the federal level.

If no regulation is possible here, we want to create our own solution in Lower Saxony, ”said the SPD parliamentary spokesman for the issue, Philipp Raulfs, when asked by the dpa.

With this beekeeping certificate, animal welfare should be ensured and the spread of possible diseases should be avoided.

A spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group said that Lower Saxony would not go it alone.

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According to the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, there are around 14,000 beekeepers with around 100,000 bee colonies across the country who are organized in associations. In addition, there is an estimated 10 to 20 percent of beekeepers who have not joined any association. Around 1,000 new beekeepers are added every year. New beekeepers are increasingly rejecting membership in an association, but beekeeping is not easy. Good practice requires some knowledge and experience.

According to the state office, honey bees do not stay on the property where their beehive is located.

Every beekeeper is connected to others and the health of his animals can influence that of others.

The prevention and control of bee diseases, such as the infestation with varroa mites, is therefore not only of enormous importance for our own bee colonies.

Despite this enormously important importance, beekeeping is hardly regulated and only determined by a few laws, according to the motion of the two government groups.

Anyone could buy a colony of bees and put it in the garden.

The hobby beekeeper does not need any permit to set up beehives on his property, whether in the garden, on the garage, on the roof of a high-rise building or on the balcony.

He just has to register the beekeeping.

dpa