GRAHAM WELCOMES BEE CONSULTATION
a media release issued on 9TH April 2008 by William Graham AM
Responding to yesterday’s launch of the joint consultation between DEFRA and Welsh Assembly Government on a strategy to improve and protect bee health, William Graham AM commented,
‘Although the famous quote from Albert Einstein that ‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left’ is probably apocryphal, the effects of the alarming decline in the population of the honeybees both in the United Kingdom and globally stretch far beyond the concern of beekeepers.
‘Seventy per cent of crops and most garden plants and flora in the British Isles depend on the honeybee for pollination, demonstrating the great value of bees to Wales’ farmers and to the wider general population. The value of pollination by the honeybee in food production in the UK has been estimated at £166 million although clearly their contribution to Wales’ unique biodiversity is immeasurable.’
The Conservative AM for South Wales East continued;
‘In view of the great damage done to feral and kept honeybees by the varroa mite and colony collapse disorder I welcome DEFRA and the Assembly Government’s‘Strategy on Protecting and Improving the Health of Honey Bees in England and Wales’ and will continue to press the Welsh Assembly Government to take a lead on considering the measures they can take to assist those people trying to improve the health of hives in Wales.’
‘The significant risks to our bees include American Foulbrood and European Foulbrood which are both subject to statutory controls, and varroa mites and associated viruses. Our declining butterfly population in Wales is similarly a great cause for concern.’
‘I acknowledge the exceptional work done by non-commercial beekeepers in Wales and encourage more apiarists throughout Gwent and Wales to join associations and the national bee database so that they can gain access to information that might improve their hives’ biosecurity.’
William Graham JP, AM
CHIEF WHIP, PARTY CHAIRMAN AND EUROPEAN SPOKESMAN
Email – William.Graham@Wales.gov.uk