The provincial government is offering some clarification following fierce social media debate related to the alleged importation of honey bees.

Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the few places free of deadly pests and diseases that have been decimating honey bee populations worldwide.

That’s prompted some beekeepers to campaign to ensure that bees not be imported into the province, but the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture says it has not received – nor does it expect to receive – any applications to import honey bees.

The department says importation would only be considered in rare or exceptional circumstances, such as replenishing stocks due to the unforeseen collapse of a beekeeper’s colonies where local honey bees are not available or the sudden and catastrophic decimation of local populations.

In such rare events, importation would only occur following strict protocols from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, including a one-year quarantine, and using bees from a jurisdiction, like Western Australia, certified to be free of the deadly varroa mite.

Importing honey bees from areas where varroa mite, small hive beetle, honey bee tracheal mite or greater wax moth are present is prohibited under provincial legislation.

Meanwhile, the province is not aware of any operators importing honey and claiming it to be local. Regulation of honey importation and the sale of graded honey in Canada falls under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.