| (1) |
The county bee inspector or the department may inspect:
Terms Used In Utah Code 4-11-107- Apiary: means any place where one or more colonies of bees are located. See Utah Code 4-11-102
- Bee: means the common honey bee, Apis mellifera, at any stage of development. See Utah Code 4-11-102
- Colony: means an aggregation of bees in any type of hive that includes queens, workers, drones, or brood. See Utah Code 4-11-102
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture and food. See Utah Code 4-1-109
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Food created in Chapter 2, Administration. See Utah Code 4-1-109
- Disease: means any infectious or contagious disease affecting bees, as specified by the department, including American foulbrood. See Utah Code 4-11-102
- Parasite: means an organism that parasitizes any developmental stage of a bee. See Utah Code 4-11-102
| (a) |
all apiaries within the county at least once each year; and |
| (b) |
immediately any apiary within the county that is alleged in a complaint to be severely diseased, parasitized, or abandoned. |
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| (2) |
If, upon inspection, the inspector determines that an apiary is diseased or parasitized, the inspector may take the following action based on the severity of the disease or parasite present:
| (a) |
prescribe the course of treatment that the owner or caretaker of the bees shall follow to eliminate the disease or parasite; |
| (b) |
personally, for the purpose of treatment approved by the department, take control of the afflicted bees, hives, combs, broods, honey, and equipment; or |
| (c) |
destroy the afflicted bees and, if necessary, their hives, combs, broods, honey, and all appliances that may have become infected. |
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| (3) |
If, upon reinspection, the inspector determines that the responsible party has not executed the course of treatment prescribed by Subsection (2), the inspector may take immediate possession of the afflicted colony for control or destruction in accordance with Subsection (2)(b) or (c). |
| (4) |
| (a) |
The owner of an apiary who is dissatisfied with the diagnosis or course of action proposed by an inspector under this section may, at the owner’s expense, have the department examine the alleged diseased bees. |
| (b) |
The decision of the commissioner with respect to the condition of bees at the time of the examination is final and conclusive upon the owner and the inspector involved. |
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Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 345, 2017 General Session
