Overview
The beekeeper's intervention is essential to maintain the beekeeping stock, the perpetuity of the business and the maintenance of pollination services. Some beekeeping activities are dependent on the season and cannot be delayed over time without threatening the colonies, their health and harvests (regular visits to apiaries including health visits, swarming management, monitoring of requeening, transhumance, harvesting of hive products, breeding of bees / constitution of bee colonies, feeding in case of famine ...). These constraints concern all beekeepers, both part time and professional. The possibility of supplying beekeeping supplies, materials and inputs (ex: wax) is also necessary for the proper implementation of these activities. Beekeeping work is often solitary. Certain work can be carried out in a small team, in particular in the biggest beekeeping concerns. Migratory beekeeping is traditionally implemented in certain regions by beekeepers to produce special interest honey and provide pollination service and / or to alleviate famines. Migrations are sometimes carried out over great distances (several hundred kilometres).
Beekeeping activities are prioritized according to the methods defined below.
Beekeeping activities to be postponed:
- Visits within the framework of animal health programs
- Visits provided by a third party not strictly necessary for the pursuit of beekeeping activity or maintaining the good health of the colonies,
- Welcome groups, -Training actions (zootechnical, health, economic, apiary management, ...),
- Physical meetings
Beekeeping activities authorized in strict compliance with the measures to prevent the spread of the virus (in particular the implementation of social separation and hygiene measures) and avoiding any grouping of people:
- The visit of apiaries by the beekeeper and / or his staff by limiting the number of visits to what is strictly necessary,
- Transhumance and hive movements, in compliance with the regulatory provisions provided for in article 13 of the ministerial decree of 11 August 1980 relating to the health system for combating bee diseases.
Note: Migratory beekeeping outside the national territory are subject to restrictions imposed by the Member State of destination.
- Preparation of equipment for depot / warehouse (preparation of wax frames, cleaning equipment, ...),
- Harvesting of beehive products, in particular extraction in honey production (adoption of strict hygiene and social distancing measures, in particular in collective honey production),
- Honey packaging operations,
- The breeding of queens / the constitution of swarms,
- Unavoidable visits carried out by a veterinarian and / or a beekeeping health technician (ASD) following a health problem observed in an apiary,
- The sale and purchase of beekeeping equipment,
- The sale of beehive products,
- Required Sanitary action – carried out by a reduced team.
To carry out these activities, people who have to travel must have the relevant certificate referred to by decree n ° 2020-260 of March 16, 2020.