§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will urgently assess the case for 475W a trial destruction of bees affected by European foul brood; and if he will offer compensation for beekeepers affected. [135671]
§ Ms QuinThe Ministry takes very seriously the threat to beekeeping from European foul brood, and is spending around £1.3 million on measures to combat European foul brood and other notifiable diseases. These include the provision of training and education to help beekeepers become more self-reliant through improved bee husbandry, and investigating alternative disease control methods to deal with serious diseases. The National Bee Unit, part of the Central Science Laboratory, with the full co-operation of affected beekeepers is conducting well publicised trials aimed at eliminating persistent European foul brood from apiaries. Preliminary results from these trials are encouraging, especially since the method used avoids the unnecessary destruction of valuable colonies. We consider this to be the best use of the funds available that are being spent in the best interests of the beekeeping industry.