An aspiring bee keeper on the Burin Peninsula says he feels like a fool after his three-year journey of trying to get access to Crown land.

Carl Slaney of St. Lawrence was preparing for his retirement and wanted to do something sustainable for his community. He started a beekeeping business.

After a long road of research , he was approved but not without requirements and liabilities . The land he had applied for was 1.6 km away from an old dump. This caused trouble in his process. He would have to hire an environmental assessor and sign legal documents.

He bought bees in 2016, went through the process of trying to get crown land. His bees are dead now.

He wonders if there is a liability in St. Lawrence that could have stopped him from receiving approval to use the land.

Strict Regulations on Import Bees

Meanwhile, Catherine Dempsey with the NL Beekeeping Association says the association was sorry to see Carl Slaney’s Beekeeping days come to an end.

The provincial government is strict on bringing bees into the province because of pests but that is the only issue she has seen when it comes to applying for permits and land.

She says there is not a huge presence of beekeeping in rural Newfoundland so to see someone on the Burin Peninsula was great. She says Slaney was a good beekeeper.