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Author Topic: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?  (Read 9915 times)

Offline Cindi

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #20 on: March 01, 2008, 11:42:29 am »
Scott, why don't you move to Canada, hee, hee.  Have a wonderful and beautiful day, love our life.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Kirk-o

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2008, 12:05:57 pm »
OK buddy just do what works for you.It will be ok
kirko
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Offline Cass Cohenour

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2008, 12:44:11 pm »
To move bees into Utah, they must be inspected in the state of origin before they can be transported into the state and must be accompanied by an inspection certificate. Only disease free colonies can get the certificate.

http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE04/htm/04_0A012.htm

You have to be registered to raise bees in Utah.

http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE04/htm/04_0A005.htm

You have to be inspected twice a year if you wish to raise bees in Utah.

http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE04/htm/04_0A010.htm

To move bees to California, you need to have them inspected in Utah and deemed disease free. You are supposed to have an inspection certificate with the colonies when you take them across state lines. This seems to be a common law in all states. Pollinators get checked at the border to ensure that their colonies are free of invasive species of plants, animals, and insects. They are also supposed to have a second inspection when they arrive at their destination.

After moving the colonies to CA you have 30 days by law to register your colonies. The registration fee is $10. If you have more than 40 colonies you have to pay an annual assessment fee. Be sure to have an inspection certificate from Utah because this may be one of the questions the inspector asks when they come out to inspect your colonies. If you don't allow them to inspect your colonies they can obtain a warrant to inspect them. Also, do not leave any empty hive bodies sitting out as they are considered public nuisance by law, because a colony of AHB may decide to make it a home.

"Excerpts from the California Agricultural Code relating to bees and
apiary inspection can be purchased from: Office Services, California
Department of Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; (916)
445-8164. Beekeeping in some localities is also governed by city or county
ordinances. Beekeepers should consult local authorities about this."



Offline rdy-b

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2008, 04:12:26 pm »
county ag extensions run the show as to the regs there is no state inspector -there are people in the county extensions that are contact people for bees but they have done away with the red tape because they cant pay for people in the field -migratory transports are treated different in every county-one of the down sides to the current process is that i know keepers that have reported neglect and Mass disease - foul-brood and such -to the ag extensions -it is illegal to treat or maintain colonies of bees with foulbrood -that is by the book -the response from ag was to band together with all the keepers to put pressure on the keeper that did not comply with the standards set-forth by ag -reason being that no matter what the statue    said the fact is that there is no MONEY in california for inforceing the statue
 -this is the way it is in cali-we dont sweat the small stuff -the state has no MONEY -they are suppose to be available to grade bees in almonds at no expense to the keeper -but in stead they give out phone numbers of keepers that charge $60 an hour to grade bees then you dont get a certificate ether-the conditions of the budget dictates in this state what is going to happen -we are speaking about two colonies of honey bees -not some invasive species that is going to be relocated -county by county -the number that is requierd for reg is different -never heard of that over 40 colony thing ether - i run plenty over 40-I am the one they come two when they have to make a county mandate inspection for shb - and we police our selfs in this state -and thats whats realy going on :-D 8-) RDY-B

Offline Angi_H

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #24 on: March 02, 2008, 12:51:22 am »
I know in our county we have no one to inspect bees. And you do not have to register unless you want pray reports an dhave to be called before propertys are sprayed with in so many miles of your bees.

Angi

Offline Cass Cohenour

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #25 on: March 02, 2008, 03:03:24 am »
STATE LAWS RELATING TO BEEKEEPING
California laws regulating beekeeping are enforced by county agricultural
commissioners and provide the basis for an effective apiary inspection
program that helps beekeepers protect honey bee colonies from disease,
pesticide damage, and theft.
Excerpts from the California Agricultural Code relating to bees and
apiary inspection can be purchased from: Office Services, California
Department of Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; (916)
445-8164. Beekeeping in some localities is also governed by city or county
ordinances. Beekeepers should consult local authorities about this.
Apiary registration.All apiaries must be registered each January with
the agricultural commissioner of the county in which the colonies are
located. Registration fee is $10 and involves listing the location of each
apiary and the number of colonies at each location. Newly acquired apiaries
and apiaries brought from out of state must be registered within 30
days of establishment.
Apiary movements and identification. Details of laws pertaining to
movement and identification of apiaries can be obtained from county
agricultural commissioners or Supervisor of Apiary Projects, California
Department of Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Apiary assessment. Resident and nonresident beekeepers operating
40 or more colonies in California are required to pay an annual assessment
fee on their colonies. The rate has varied for several years, so the
Supervisor of Apiary Projects (address above) should be contacted for
current rates.

http://www.beeguild.org/CA_Beekeeping_V2.pdf


When I was searching the web earlier trying to find some info on any laws, I discovered that there isn't much on the web about bee laws in California. Your state must really be broke because they MAKE YOU PAY for "excerpts from the California Agricultural Code relating to bees and
apiary inspection." It seems that should be something that they would give to beekeeper FOR FREE!!! I'm just glad I am where I am at. Our legislators gave the Dept of Ag Apiary Division an additional $200k this year to help out the beeks. They have a co-pay program for packages, beeks pay $25 per 3# package. They are also giving beeks a treatment of Apivar per each colony registered last year and an amount of HFCS determined also by the number of colonies registered last year.
So since there is no money for inspections, any fly by night outfit could decide to start up and sell packages, nucs, and queens all across the country from within California without ever having a single inspection (since ther is no money) or no knowledge themselves of how to diagnose a diseases. That's good to know, especially for someone who might have been thinking of buying some of those bees that will be coming out of the almonds real soon. I'm am truly sorry that this is your reality in CA. 
As for the guy with the AFB, I believe I would have been pouring some gasoline in those colonies late at night after sealing the entrance. A few guys each with a 5 gallon can of gas could really do some damage in a short amount of time. There is nothing wrong with being a vigilante every now and then, as long as you don't caught. Well, if you police yourselves you shouldn't have to worry about that.

Scott, here is a list of county ag commissioners if you should decide to contact the one for where you intend to move.

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/county/county_contacts.html

Offline rdy-b

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #26 on: March 02, 2008, 03:38:59 am »
these things have been going on for years and years for the most part the keepers in cali do police them selfs -and do a fine job of it -sounds pretty good where you come from I can understand why you put so much stock in your ag system -they are doing great things where you are - wonder where those packages you guys will get come from -mite even be the almonds -any way -we are not so fortunate -sorry I hope you understand why we as california keepers dont worry about what comes up in statue from times gone by when cali had top notch apiary controls in place -but it simply isint that way these days- I know it is easy and fun to pull up facts from the internet -just because they dont add up to a hill of beans is no reason to break the civil laws in place those are taken very seriously in this state -I know everybody wants to be on the right side of the law so i will have no worries  :lol: RDY-B

Offline Cass Cohenour

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #27 on: March 02, 2008, 10:25:19 am »
They are getting the bees from Georgia. The bad thing is, There was not a single queen producer which could supply queens so several queen breeders went in together to get the contract. I don't know exactly where the packages are coming from, other than Georgia, but I will find out when I get mine because they should have two accompanying certificates of inspection, one for the bees and one for the queens.

Offline blckoakbees

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #28 on: March 04, 2008, 08:00:12 am »

If you are going to bring your hives in I would recommend having them inspected and a certification.  While you might not be stopped at the border, you may be the unlucky one.

I know the more heavily populated areas such as around S.F. are more likely to have city or county ordinances about things like beekeeping.  So you may want to look at that when deciding where to locate.  You may want to search the web because there is a whole group of urban beekeepers in the Bay Area.  I know that if the bees do not bother the neighbors you usually do not have a problem no matter what the ordinances are.

We have members of our club in Sacramento Ca who keep 5 or more hives in the city with no problems.
I hope this is of assistance.

And once you move don't tell anyone about the good parts of California, we have too many people here. Better to be thought of as the land or Fruits and Nuts (people not agricultural) it keeps people from moving here.

Offline BMAC

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #29 on: March 04, 2008, 09:36:41 am »


And once you move don't tell anyone about the good parts of California, we have too many people here. Better to be thought of as the land or Fruits and Nuts (people not agricultural) it keeps people from moving here.

haha.  Good parts of California.  I must have missed that during my 4 year stay south of LA.  I couldn't wait till my time was done and I could move back out of that state.
God Bless all the troops
Semper Fi Marines!

Offline annette

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #30 on: March 04, 2008, 01:20:53 pm »
You never experienced northern california I imagine.


Offline BMAC

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #31 on: March 04, 2008, 02:02:48 pm »
nope.  I followed all the LA idiots to Big Bear a few times, but with the meager pay I was earning at the time and no time off, I never ventured further north than Seal Beach.  I can picture Northern Cali being a nice place to live, but I believe overall it is over priced as most people (for whatever reason) also enjoy living in California. 

Trust me, I am not really knocking on living in California.  I know it just isnt for me.....
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Offline annette

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #32 on: March 04, 2008, 03:08:09 pm »
I understand. It is very expensive to live here so I understand so many people wanting to move away.


Offline Alan Forbes

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #33 on: March 04, 2008, 06:02:56 pm »
I'm in the East Bay; the Lafayette/Walnut Creek/Danville area starts 10-15 miles east of me and summer temperatures can be 15°-20° warmer with winter temperatures 10°-15° cooler.  The further you get away from the bay, the less the temperatures are moderated by the water mass.  If you don't like the fog, Contra Costa county (Lafayette/Walnut Creek/Danville) is the place you want to be..........(...."so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly").

I don't think Berkeley or Oakland (where I used to live) have any laws against keeping bees; we are pretty tolerant folks out West here.

Offline UtahBees

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #34 on: March 04, 2008, 06:07:32 pm »
I'm in the East Bay; the Lafayette/Walnut Creek/Danville area starts 10-15 miles east of me

Thanks Alan! I appreciate the input. Your area is nice, and I'd like to live somewhere around there if I take the position. I'll update everyone after the official offer comes, and we've come to a decision.

Offline Mklangelo

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Re: Moving Bees to California - Any Law?
« Reply #35 on: March 04, 2008, 10:12:55 pm »
Hey everyone,

I'm considering a job opportunity that would take us back to California (Northern). While I don't like the thought of moving the opportunity is exciting.

Would anyone know about any regulation (city/state law) stopping me from taking my soon-to-be-resurrected two beehives with me, and have them in my backyard? Of course I'd make sure they have the right care and all that good neighborly stuff. I'm more concerned with backyard beekeeping rules in general.

Regards,

UtahBees (Scott)

It's California.  Of course there is a law...lol

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