Call to fund bee-death research

Bee-keepers in the South East want more money to be spent on research into the threats facing honey bees.

Apiarists in Kent and East Sussex said 20% of their colonies were killed over the winter and if the trend continued it would have a big impact on farming.

They want the government to spend up to �8m over five years to look at the mites and viruses that can kill bees.

Defra said �210,000 was spent annually on bee health research and it could be re-allocated if a case was made.

Richard Fridd, who has been keeping bees in Kent for 25 years, said not enough was being done to protect bees.

It is completely out of the question to say we've got a problem with bees and Defra must spend �8m Lord Rooker

He added: "We definitely need a lot more research, it's a big industry. Vastly more important that then the production of honey is all the crops that are grown as a result of bees pollination.

"If there isn't research done on this and how to cure these diseases there's going to be a big loss of farming income."

The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) has backed calls for more money to be spent on bee health research.

Norman Carreck, of the BBKA, said the organisation had "come to the conclusion that the cost of that (research) work would be in order of �8m over five years."

Environment and rural affairs minister Lord Rooker said: "If they come back with a sort of business plan, with something from the industry, we'd be more than happy to look at a re-allocation of our resources.

"But it is completely out of the question to say we've got a problem with bees and Defra must spend �8m."

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