Beekeepers In General

[steve]

I have a question for the ORSBA on beekeepers.
I heard last night on the news that there is a beekeeper in in the portland area that has bees in his backyard and they are causing quite a stir with the surrounding neighbors by them getting stung along with their pets also.
I also know of a few beekeepers around that pose the same problem with their neighbors.
Is there anybody that can inforce a rule of where a beekeeper can have his bees and how many hives that he has there.
I know some of the cities have rules and regulations on this but they do little about it trying to keep peace with the beekeeper.
As a fellow beekeeper I try to satify the publics concern by moving the bees to a differant location, sometimes I think that they are not always right but still go along with their wishes.I myself think that the poor honey bee gets blamed for doing things that other pest bees do.
But in general all beekeepers should try to make the public happy and keep the bad things about bees out of the news.
Please let me know if there is a solution to this.
Steve

[HarryVanderpool]

For the past two years, the OSBA has been developing a set of guidelines for Oregon beekeepers.
At first, the project was labeled, "Ethics for Oregon Beekeepers".
There was a dislike for the word, "Ethics" however, after all of the nasty legal wranglings over ethics always in the news.
Go to the ORSBA.org site and look through the old beelines and you will find articles on this.
There, I believe you will find the public safety issues addressed.
We will be voting on these guidelines at the conference this fall.

[Thom]

These are guidelines for OSBA members, and more so that when the media asks the OSBA for a comment we can speak with one voice and confidently state that a beekeeper is or is not meeting the guidelines for responsible beekeeping. What Harry has been crafting will not have any legal remedies, however a community that is looking to pass laws against beekeeping would be wise to incorporate our guidelines into their legal statements. Hence not outlaw beekeeping but outlaw careless beekeeping.