In this Order—

• “appliances” means containers and any other equipment used in connection with keeping or transporting bees;

• “bee pest” means any beetle, mite or similar organism that may be injurious to bees and that is in any stage of its life cycle;

• “field test kit” means a portable test kit that confirms the presence of a disease without the need to send samples to a laboratory;

• “hive” means any thing that contains or has at any time contained a colony of bees;

• “hive debris” includes dead bees, parasites, wax and pollen;

• “notifiable disease” means American foul brood or European foul brood;

• “notifiable pest” means the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) or any species of the Tropilaelaps mite;

• “premises” includes any place with or without buildings; and

• “vehicle” includes any vessel, boat, hovercraft or aircraft.

Paragraph (2)(c) does not apply to a notice under Article 10.

A licence under this Order shall be in writing, may be general or specific, may contain conditions and may be suspended, amended or revoked by notice at any time.

A general licence issued under this Order shall be brought to the attention of those persons whom it is likely to affect by its publication in such newspapers or periodicals or in such other manner as the Department considers necessary.

If a notice is served under Article 6(1) or (2), the prohibition on removal in that notice shall apply in place of the prohibition on removal in paragraph (1).

Any person who gives notification under Article 3(2) shall not remove, or permit to be removed, any bee pest or any other thing by which the notifiable pest is liable to be spread from the premises or vehicle on or in which it is situated.

If a notice is served under Article 6(1) or (2), the prohibition on removal in that notice shall apply in place of the prohibition on removal in paragraph (5).

Any sample submitted under paragraph (2) or (6) shall be packed so as to prevent as far as possible the risk of the spread of infection during transit.

An authorised person may mark any hive or appliance for identification purposes.

No person shall in any way interfere with any identifying mark made under paragraph (1) or permit such a mark to be interfered with.

A notice served pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be revoked if an authorised person is subsequently able to act without obstruction in the exercise of his power of entry under Article 4 of the Order on or in the premises or vehicle.

In this Article “the Order” means The Bees (Northern Ireland) Order 1980.

The presence of a notifiable disease shall be confirmed by an authorised person on the basis of either a laboratory test result or a field test kit result.

If, once any treatment required by a notice served under this Article has been carried out, an authorised person confirms by way of a laboratory test result or a field test kit result that the notifiable disease remains, an authorised person may serve further notices under this Article.

The presence of a notifiable pest shall be confirmed by an authorised person on the basis of a either laboratory test result or an examination.

If, once any treatment required by a notice served under this article has been carried out, an authorised person confirms on the basis of a laboratory test result or an examination that the notifiable pest remains, an authorised person may serve further notices under this Article.

The Department may by notice declare an area in which it is satisfied that a notifiable pest is present to be an infected area.

The notice may provide that all or any of the provisions specified in the Schedule apply in all or part of the infected area, and that different provisions apply in different parts of the infected area, as the Department considers necessary to prevent the spread of the pest.

The Department shall publish any notice issued under paragraph (1) and any notice amending or revoking such a notice in such manner as it considers appropriate to bring it to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it.

This Article applies where bees are imported into Northern Ireland in accordance with Article 1(1) of Commission Decision 2003/881/EC concerning the animal health and certification conditions for imports of bees (Apis mellifera and Bombus spp.) from certain third countries and repealing Decision 2000/462/EC3.

Following the examination referred to in paragraph (2)(b), the Department shall arrange for the cages, attendant bees and other material referred to in that paragraph to be destroyed as soon as reasonably practicable.

Where bees of the species Bombus are imported into Northern Ireland in accordance with Article 2 of Commission Decision 2003/881/EC, the owner or person in charge of the bees shall ensure that the container in which they are transported from the country of origin and all material that accompanies the bees from the country of origin are destroyed either during or immediately at the end of the lifespan of the imported colony.

No person may treat bees with a substance which may have the effect of disguising the presence of, or rendering difficult the detection of, a notifiable disease unless he is carrying out the treatment of bees in accordance with a notice served under Article 7.

The Department may by licence exempt any person from the prohibition contained in paragraph (2).

Any person upon whom a notice is served under this Order or who is subject to the provisions of a notice declaring an area to be an infected area within the meaning of Article 10 shall comply with the provisions of that notice.

Where any person has not complied with a notice served upon him under this Order, an authorised person may arrange for it to be complied with.

The person upon whom the notice is served shall be liable for any costs incurred under paragraph (1).

Any action taken by an authorised person under paragraph (1) and any recovery of costs under paragraph (2) shall be without prejudice to any proceedings for an offence arising out of contravention of a notice served under this Order.