Beekeepers will soon require license to run apiaries in proposed bill
This bill prohibits farmers from keeping bees for commercial purposes if you don't have a license
Let’s talk about the new proposed Livestock Bill 2021. This bill was sponsored by the MP of Kipiriri, Amos Kimunya. It seeks to prohibit farmers from keeping bees for commercial purposes except in an apiary or home of bees registered by the government.
“A person shall not keep bees for commercial purposes unless in an apiary registered under this Act, own or possess bees or keeping equipment for commercial purposes unless the person is registered under this Act,” the Bill reads.
It doesn’t end there. The Livestock Bill 2021 also stops a person from allowing bees to be kept on land owned or occupied by the person unless the land is registered under the Act as the location of an apiary. This means if passed into law, you will be required to register with your local county government to actually keep bees on your farm!
“The county executive member for livestock shall if satisfied that the applicant meets the requirement of registration prescribed in regulations, register the applicant and issue the applicant certificate of registration in the prescribed form,” the Bill states.
The instructions don’t end there. You will have to visit the county offices again after a year to renew this license. It is not going to be a one-off registration process.
“A person who becomes a beekeeper only because of the ownership, or the charge, care or possession or bees kept in a device of an approved kind and used for purposes of pollination of the crop, is not required to be registered under this section if the bees and device are disposed of in the prescribed manner within eight weeks after the person becomes a beekeeper in relation to them,” – The Bill also states.
What do you think of this Bill? Share your comments below.
