§ 3021. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Abandoned apiary” means any apiary in this State whose location has not been registered with the Secretary and for which the owner cannot be located after reasonable effort. (2) “Apiary” means a place where one or more colonies of bees are kept and shall include hives […]
§ 3022. Enforcement; inspection (a) The Secretary shall enforce the provisions of this chapter. (b) Any person who is the owner of any bees, apiary, colony, or hive shall pay a $10.00 annual registration fee for each apiary. The fee revenue shall be collected by the Secretary and credited to the Pesticide Monitoring Revolving Fund […]
§ 3023. Registration; report (a) Registration. A person who is the owner of any bees, apiary, colony, or hive in the State shall register with the Secretary in writing on a form provided by the Secretary. (b) Report. Annually the owner of any bees, apiary, colony, or hive registered under subsection (a) of this section […]
§ 3023a. Vermont beekeeper educational program (a) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Vermont Beekeepers Association, shall establish a voluntary educational program to train a person who owns bees, apiaries, colonies, or hives in the State. The educational program shall address: (1) bee health; (2) varroa mite identification and control; (3) identification of common diseases […]
§ 3024. Apiary inspection; owners to control or eradicate bee diseases The Secretary, or his or her inspectors, may examine all apiaries as necessary and ascertain whether any disease which is injurious to bees is present. If any such disease is found, the Secretary shall give the owners or caretakers of the diseased apiaries written […]
§ 3025. Second inspection of diseased colonies; destruction The Secretary or his or her inspectors shall inspect all diseased apiaries a second time no less than 10 days after the first inspection. If the existence of disease within the apiary has been confirmed by a laboratory approved by the Secretary, the inspector may destroy any […]
§ 3026. Sale or other unauthorized disposition of diseased bees The owner of any apiary in which a disease exists shall not knowingly sell, barter, give away, or move any diseased bees, colonies, honey, hives, combs, or equipment unless he or she has the written consent of the Secretary; such person shall not in any […]
§ 3027. Abandoned apiaries and equipment Any diseased hive or hives found by the Secretary or his or her inspector in an abandoned apiary shall be destroyed. Any abandoned diseased beekeeping equipment may be destroyed. (Added 1983, No. 83, § 1; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)
§ 3028. Traffic in bees; inspection; certification A person engaged in the rearing of bees for sale shall have his or her apiary inspected by the Secretary prior to sale at least once each summer season and, if any disease is found which is injurious to bees, shall at once cease to ship bees from […]
§ 3029. Movable comb frames required (a) All hives shall be constructed with frames containing the honeycombs and brood combs which may be removed from the hive for purposes of inspection. Upon determination that any hive containing bees is not constructed with removable frames, the Secretary or his or her inspector may: (1) order the […]
§ 3030. Rules The Secretary may adopt and enforce rules to implement the requirements of this chapter, including rules regarding: (1) inspection, disinfection, seizure, destruction, or other disposition of bees, equipment, or bee products capable of carrying or transmitting any disease; (2) importation of bees, equipment, or bee products capable of carrying or transmitting any […]
§ 3031. Right of entry; impeding prohibited The Secretary or his or her authorized inspector may enter at a reasonable hour public or private premises, except private dwellings, for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter and shall have access, ingress, and egress to any apiary or place where he or she has […]
§ 3032. Transportation of bees or used equipment into the State (a) Except as provided under subsections (c) and (d) of this section, bees, used equipment, or colonies shall not be brought into the State of Vermont unless approved by the Secretary by permit. The Secretary shall not approve the import of bees, used equipment, […]
§ 3033. Shipping bees or equipment into another state or country; application for inspection; expenses; certificate (a) If an owner wishes to ship bees or equipment into another state or country, he or she may apply to the Secretary for an inspection for bee diseases likely to prevent the acceptance of the bees or beekeeping […]
§ 3034. Establishing an apiary location No person shall locate an apiary within two miles of an existing apiary registered to a different person, with the following exceptions: (1) a person may locate an apiary anywhere on his or her own property; (2) beekeepers with a total ownership of ten hives or less shall be […]
§ 3035. Penalty A person who violates a provision of this chapter, or a regulation adopted under its authority, shall be fined not more than $500.00 for each offense. (Added 1983, No. 83, § 1.)
§ 3036. Monitoring of pollinator health The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall monitor managed pollinator health to establish pollinator health benchmarks for Vermont, including: (1) presence of pesticides in hives; (2) mite pressure; (3) disease pressure; (4) mite control methods; (5) genetic influence on survival; (6) winter survival rate; and (7) forage availability. […]
