Implementing Regulations of The Agriculture Law

Beekeeping and feeding shall be subject to the following measures, precautions, procedures and controls: 1. Beekeepers and owners of apiaries and bee facilities shall provide correct data as required by the employees of the Ministry or the relevant agency and shall allow them to inspect their colonies and collect samples of bees, tools, products, or therapeutic and nutritional materials when necessary. 2. If bee colonies are endangered by a disease or pest, or if bee materials or tools become a source of pathogen infection that may lead to economic loss, one or more of the following measures shall be taken: 73| Implementing Regulations of the Agriculture Law a) A beekeeper shall report the disease or pests to the nearest branch, directorate, or general agricultural administration, and shall fill out the relevant form. b) A beekeeper shall take the necessary measures to treat the disease or pest by using the registered materials for control measures, and shall follow the instructions on the package label. Should he be unacquainted with the methods of treatment, he shall contact the nearest branch, directorate, or general agricultural administration so that a bee technician can conduct the necessary inspection and adequately recommend the treatment and the administration method and timing. c) Bees and/or tools that pose a source of infection with the disease or pest shall be placed under internal agricultural quarantine for a period to be determined by the Ministry, and shall never be transferred from the quarantine place. d) The Ministry shall issue a circular to implement control measures by beekeepers to limit the spread of the disease and pest in the area. e) The Ministry shall designate and close infected areas and shall prevent the entry or exit of any bees or products thereof, in coordination with the relevant agencies; said quarantine shall be lifted pursuant to a decision of the Ministry. f) A Ministry employee may, pursuant to a Ministry technician’s report, and in the presence of a bee owner or his representative, exterminate bee colonies and/or tools should this procedure be the only effective method to eradicate the disease or pest. 3. Chemical pesticides or antibiotics shall not be used to control bee diseases or pests during the plant flowering seasons and storage of bee honey. As an exception, authorized natural materials or pesticides not of a chemical origin may be used for treatment. 4. Therapeutic materials used to control bee pests and diseases shall be officially registered with the Ministry or with a relevant government agency. No pesticide or substance of unknown origin or not intended for bees, or the package of which does not contain full and clear information about its composition and application method, shall be used. 5. No unlicensed substance shall be used or added to bee feeding for the purpose of treatment inside or outside beehives such as, veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, vitamins, or livestock or poultry proteins). 74| Implementing Regulations of the Agriculture Law 6. The Ministry shall, in emergencies that greatly endanger beekeeping as a profession, provide and distribute to beekeepers pesticides and bee tools free of charge. 7. Bee feeding using carbohydrates (sugars) and/or proteins (pollen grains, supplements, or substitutes thereof) shall be permitted in the following cases: a) If natural food sources for bees are unavailable or lacking during summer or dry periods; the aim in this case shall be to preserve bee life; b) Strengthening bee colonies for the production of queen bees or bee packages during breeding seasons; and c) Strengthening newly-hived bee swarms or those emerging from partitioning. 8. Materials not intended for use in bee colonies or not registered for bee feeding shall not be used or added with the aim of stimulation or treatment, whether inside or outside hives. 9. Materials registered for bee feeding shall not be used during the flowering and honey sorting period.