Between the lines: Beehive a mite tardy on pest

Beekeepers have good reason to suspect they have been stung by the Government decision to spend $40 million managing the Varroa mite, rather than spending $50 million to attempt to eradicate it.

They rightly wonder what sort of management it is that comes with an admission that it will only slow the spread of the bee-killing pest nationwide, keeping it out of the supposedly mite-free South Island "for as long as possible."

And while not every beekeeper agreed that eradication was the best option, all must wonder at the weight given to some issues.

How much credibility should have been given to the suggestion, contained in cabinet briefing papers, that there was potential for public concern over possible environmental and public health impacts of a poisoning programme.

Is this not the country that spends millions on spreading poison through bush and farmland to kill off possums? Is it not the same country that, night after night, drenched parts of Auckland in pesticide to rid itself of the Gypsy moth.

Greater public concerns have been and are dealt with than those likely to arise over bait stations that pose no threat to anything other than wild bees.

Another issue that persuaded the Government to opt for the Varroa management plan was the risk to industries reliant on bees for pollination, given that opting for eradication would have meant the destruction of up to 40 per cent of North Island hives.

Many beekeepers were sure they could meet the challenge of providing sufficient pollinators.

Now, they could be excused for thinking that the long-term livelihoods of many have been sacrificed to other industries.

How else to explain that many of them are now expected to send hives which are believed Varroa-free into areas where they face a high likelihood of becoming infected, and when they return home will spread the mite further, faster.

The briefing papers show this to be the case.

Under the eradication option hives would have been allowed into the Bay of Plenty for kiwifruit pollination but would not have been allowed back out "because of the considerable risk of Varroa spread."

MAF has since stated that under the management plan there would be minimal impact on pollination because it enabled hives to be available.

That's small comfort to beekeepers who, once their hives are infected, must bear the annual cost of treating their weakened hives with mite-killing pesticides.

And they must be wondering how sound a decision has been made for them when a cabinet committee could contemplate delaying any move at all for at least eight months while it sought more information.