Bees: Imports

(asked on 23rd July 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that queen honeybees imported into Great Britain via Northern Ireland are free from pests and diseases, in particular the small hive beetle.


Answered by
Baroness Hayman of Ullock Portrait
Baroness Hayman of Ullock
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 31st July 2025

All consignments of honey bee queens imported into Northern Ireland (NI) must be accompanied by health certificates confirming that the area the bees originated from is free of certain pests, including small hive beetle, and diseases. The health certificate must be issued no more than 24 hours prior to dispatch and the certifying officer must also confirm that a pre-export inspection took place. Imports into NI are cleared by NI officials.

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