As beekeepers we have a duty of care for our bees. This duty is moral and not legal currently. Due to the spread of honey bee related diseases, parasites and other pests by humankind’s activities, honey bees now need human intervention for them to survive and thrive. They live as wild creatures in many respects, wild but managed by beekeepers.
- Caring well for our bees is in the best interests of bees themselves, in our own self-interest individually and collectively, and to meet the needs of the environment, especially in terms of pollination.
- Our management, rooted in knowledge and good practice, should seek to avoid unnecessary suffering and help to ensure honey bee colonies remain healthy and flourish according to their nature.
The Trustees urge members of the Association to adhere to the following guidelines:
a) Join BeeBase and register your apiary sites that are in use.
b) Improve your knowledge.
- Take the British Beekeeper Association (BBKA) Basic.
- Attend talks, workshops and improver sessions.
- Attend the Healthy Bee days we organise with the NBU.
- Consider attending our BBKA module workshops.
- Use the resources on the Association website – good practice guides and recordings of talks.
c) Day to day management.
- Aim to keep strong and healthy colonies.
- Handle your bees to minimise stresses and harm.
- Perform monitoring and treat colonies for varroa with authorised treatments, as necessary.
- Be watchful for disease and pests, and perform a thorough disease inspection at least once per year.
- Contact your DA and NBU seasonal inspector if foulbrood suspected.
- Protect colonies appropriately against pests.
- Ensure your apiary site is appropriate (shelter, security, access ….)
- Ensure colonies always have adequate stores.
- Replace older brood frames each year on a regular basis.
- Practise swarm prevention and control.
- Be ready to capture swarms as required.
You can download a copy of this document here.
Last review: March 2025