This paper was delivered to Apimondia in Vancouver, September 1999...

See the related article: Controlling AFB Without Drugs - New Zealand's Approach

New Zealand's Pest Management Strategy:
How it Works in Practice

Murray Reid
AgriQuality New Zealand Ltd
PO Box 3080
Hamilton

Introduction

So what is unique about controlling AFB you ask? After all, it is a very common disease of honey bees and nearly every beekeeper in the world has to face up to dealing with it at sometime just as they may have to deal with government regulations regarding this disease. What's unique about New Zealand's programme is that the beekeeping industry alone is totally responsible for designing, implementing and funding the strategy to eliminate AFB, and government has given them the legal powers to do so.

We have had an Apiaries Act since 1906, but government took responsibility for administering the act and funding all or most of the disease control activities. A former colleague Cliff Van Eaton reported on these activities and results in his presentation last Monday.

However, successive governments in New Zealand have moved to a user pays basis for regulatory or quality control programmes or devolved the responsibility to industry groups. In the case of AFB control the New Zealand government has done both these things beginning with full cost recovery in 1991.

Beekeepers Now Responsible for AFB Control

Formulating a PMS and getting it enacted in law has proved to be a very torturous, expensive and time consuming process that took over five years and involved untold hours of input from industry leaders, MAF officials and advisers and consultants. Not least of the problems was the need to show the Minister of Agriculture that the industries Pest Management Strategy was technically sound, they had the ability to manage and fund it and that a significant proportion of beekeepers were in agreement with the strategy. Eventually all the hurdles were crossed and the PMS, whose goal is "to eliminate American foulbrood from beehives in New Zealand, was passed into law on 1st October 1998. Elimination of AFB may seem an impossible task but the objective was adopted because the law requires individuals to eliminate AFB, New Zealand has a relatively small bee population and being an island nation the importation of risk material can be controlled

It would be true to say that the PMS has been somewhat controversial, despite a majority of beekeepers being in favour of it. The extra costs, perceived increase in bureaucracy and the goal to eliminate AFB are frequently mentioned by detractors. However, all beekeepers recognise the need for some sort of control system given the industries desire not to resort to antibiotics to try and control American foulbrood.

Unique Factors in the PMS

• the National Beekeepers' Association (NBA) has assumed the responsibility, on behalf of New Zealand's 4,800 beekeepers, for eliminating AFB in New Zealand.
• the NBA has to raise funds to carry out this function which it does by a levy on apiaries
• beekeepers with more than 3 apiaries and/or 10 hives must pay a levy
• the levy is NZ50 (US$26) for the first apiary and NZ$22 (US$11.50) for each additional apiary. Note: The NBA is applying for an increase in the levy to NZ$26 (US$13.50)
• every hive in New Zealand must be inspected, and the disease status reported, by an Approved Beekeeper.
• to be "Approved" beekeepers must submit a hive and AFB management plan and agree to sit an exam on AFB recognition and control.
• beekeepers must submit samples of bees and/or honey for AFB testing if so requested.
• all hives with AFB symptoms are to be destroyed although equipment can be sterilised by heating in paraffin wax.
• no antibiotics will be used to control AFB.

Main Components of the PMS

Disease Elimination Conformity Agreements (DECA)

The first part of the DECA contains "Compulsory Requirements", whereby the beekeeper agrees to use moveable frames, keep clear access to hives, not expose or sell any AFB infected material, not feed antibiotics for AFB control, to register all apiaries, to identify each apiary with a Code, to furnish an Annual Disease Return, to destroy and report any AFB, to supply samples for testing and to sign Certificates of Inspection for other beekeepers only if carried out according to the conditions laid down in the Certificate.

The "Negotiated Components" describe a series of typical management practices for both hobby and commercial beekeepers regarding inspecting, recording and destroying AFB, sterilising equipment, training staff and trace back. For each "operation" the beekeeper is given 3-5 options and asked to tick a box(es) reflecting their management practices, for example:

2.1     How many frames do you inspect?
  o inspect four brood frames per hive
  o inspect all frames in brood boxes in each hive
  o other (please describe)

3.1     What type of movement control system/records
do you use (disease control and elimination purposes only)
  o within the disease diary
  o within apiary work diary
  o marking individual hives
  o marking hives to individual apiaries
  o other (please specify)

Once AgriQuality officers have approved a DECA beekeepers are sent a Certificate of Inspection Exemption plus a copy of the NBA's "AFB Elimination Manual". In effect they are now Approved Beekeepers and can inspect and report on their own hives or those of other beekeepers who do not choose to obtain a DECA. Beekeepers keep their DECA's "for life" or until such time as a change in their management practices leads to an increase in AFB.

Currently to the end of August 1999 2548 beekeepers have approved DECA'S but this is less than the 4081 beekeepers that the NBA was expecting to apply. Of the 270 beekeepers, who own more than 250 hives, only 82% have their DECA's so far. However, this number will no doubt increase as beekeepers appreciate the costs of finding a person with a DECA to inspect their hives each year so they can complete their Certificate of Inspection.

DECA's are reviewed annually by AgriQuality NZ who audit the beekeepers Annual Disease Return against any information from field inspections or laboratory tests. There is also an arbitration process for any beekeeper who may dispute having his or her DECA revoked.

Competency Test

The test has 50 True or False questions with some errors allowed. There is also a series of photographs depicting healthy and diseased brood for beekeepers to show their skills at differential diagnosis, and no errors are allowed in this section. The NBA advises that if beekeepers study their "AFB Elimination Manual", they should easily pass the test. Typical questions could be:

• If you find a hive infected with AFB, you have 14 days to report it to the Management Agency. True / False
• You are permitted to feed antibiotics to a colony with AFB, provided you can get the drug from a Veterinarian True / False

Hive Inspection and Audit Programme

Previously the NBA paid AgriQuality to inspect approximately 1,000 apiaries per year with an average of six hives per apiary. These inspections were targeted to known or suspect AFB apiaries and together with a further 1,000 apiaries inspected by beekeepers under AgriQuality warrants and direction, gave a good audit of beekeepers AFB management and reporting. However, inspecting hives is expensive and the NBA is attempting to get an acceptable level of auditing by testing honey and bee samples taken by beekeepers.

AgriQuality inspected 280 apiaries and 1482 hives under contract in the past season and found 48 hives of AFB in 26 apiaries (9%) which is about what was traditionally found on targeted inspections (5-10%). Beekeepers working voluntarily under AgriQuality direction and warrants inspected another 90 apiaries and 927 hives and found 14 diseased apiaries (15.5%).

AgriQuality was required to arrange for the collection of 500 honey samples from commercial beekeepers (Table 1) and 500 bee samples from non-commercial beekeepers (Table 2). The number of samples per Apiary District was allocated on the number of beekeepers who had had AFB colonies the previous season. Beekeepers were selected within each district on the basis of previous AFB history or geographic location. 1069 jars were sent to 482 beekeepers.

Reminder notices were published in the New Zealand Beekeeper magazine and the Beekeeper Homepage and further requests were made at field days and NBA meetings and by individual contact and a personal letter to defaulters. So far only 330 beekeepers (66%) have sent in the requested samples. Some samples are still trickling in but as at 30th August 1999, 743 samples (69%) out of 1,069 had been received and tested at the Horticulture & Research laboratory. An additional 23 samples of suspect larvae or comb have also been sent in by AgriQuality or beekeepers as approved samples.

Of the 426 samples of honey that have been tested, 13 were positive but only 3 showed moderate numbers of AFB colonies on the culture plates (range 18-40). Of the 317 samples of bees tested, 27 were positive (range 1-1000), with 10 showing levels of AFB colonies that should indicate a visible infection in the field. Eight cases of visible AFB have so far been found or reported.

A number of these cases were inspected in the late summer (February-March), but no signs of AFB were found at that time. However, some of the hives were found to have visible AFB on subsequent inspections during late April and May. These apiaries will be marked for further inspection in the spring.

Table 1: Summary of Testing Honey Samples of AFB to 30^th June 1999

Table 2: Summary of Testing Bee Samples for AFB to 30^th June 1999

* The No. of AFB colonies on the "honey" plates ranged from 1-40

** The No. of AFB colonies on the "bee" plates ranged from 1-1000

In addition to the samples above, 22 suspect larvae or comb samples were submitted to the lab and 6 of these (27%) were positive with 2-1000+ AFB colonies.

Certificates of Inspection

Beekeepers who do not provide a Certificate of Inspection are likely to have their hives inspected by AgriQuality and the costs of this work will be recovered by the National Beekeepers' Association. One consequence of the new strategy is that many hobby beekeepers have chosen to quit their hives. Beekeeper statistics have been reasonably static over the past years but since the PMS came into effect over 500 beekeepers have requested to be cancelled from the register.

Annual Disease Return (ADR) and Apiary Register

All apiaries must be registered and marked with the beekeepers unique code as supplied by AgriQuality. The database contains over 30,000 names and addresses for beekeepers and apiary locations as well as AFB records and is maintained at seven locations around the country through a central file server.

Counselling

Inspectors or Authorised Persons

Such inspectors can enter land, inspect hives, and depending on their level of Authorisation, order the destruction of infected hives. This later function is currently reserved to MAF staff and personnel in AgriQuality NZ Ltd

Controlling AFB

This stamping out policy contained AFB to 2.6% (557) of apiaries and 0.31% (938) of hives for the year ending 30 June. However, many beekeepers also believe in selecting stock that show uncapping and removal behaviour which is believed to reduce the incidence of chalkbrood and sacbrood disease and most likely AFB as well.

In conclusion it is fair to say that New Zealand beekeepers are determined to control and even eliminate AFB by a combination of education, and having all hives inspected annually by a person who has demonstrated skills in recognising AFB and controlling it. The current methods of control depend on reporting cases and destroying infected material. This adoption of a quality system is still under development and it will take a number of years before it can be claimed to be more successful than previous systems. This programme has been designed by beekeepers for beekeepers and is being managed by beekeepers. It is a very bold and innovative attempt to eliminate AFB from New Zealand and it deserves to succeed.