SAVE UP TO 31% SUBSCRIBE TODAY

New charity to help bees

PUBLISHED: 17:14 20 September 2009 | UPDATED: 08:33 28 March 2014

SEPT 18, 2009: A new, UK-based charity has been founded to conserve and protect bees, to educate people about bees and to research and promote more natural beekeeping methods.

Friends of the Bees was inspired by the Natural Beekeeping Network – a growing, worldwide movement of over 1,500 beekeepers in 160 countries who are developing more natural ways to look after their bees.

Nearly half the membership is in the UK. Friends of the Bees director Phil Chandler said: “The recent stories of honeybees being in decline have made many beekeepers look more critically at the way they treat their bees.

"We don’t want to have to medicate them or put synthetic chemicals into our hives – it goes against all our instincts and detracts from the public’s perception of honey as a natural, unadulterated product.”

MORE:www.friendsofthebees.org

Latest from the Country Smallholding

Farmers say poor rural connectivity is leaving them behind

More than four in 10 farmers still don’t have adequate fast and reliable broadband in order to run a modern-day farming business, according to a new NFU survey. Credit: Ratth/Getty

Poll shows fewer farmers routinely giving antibiotics to newborn lambs

Preventative treatment is only justified in individuals that have a significant risk of disease, such as triplets or very small lambs, Dr Lovatt insisted, who added that while the practice of treating large numbers of healthy lambs is now less common, not a single flock should be using this approach. Credit: Ceri Breeze/Getty

McDonald’s UK and The Prince’s Countryside Fund invite farmers to get Ready for Change

McDonald’s UK and PCF are inviting dairy and livestock farmers in England to attend their latest webinar, delivered by Kite Consultants, on ‘Agricultural Transition – getting ready for change’. Credit: Prince's Countryside Trust

Survey launches to assess shocking impact of sheep worrying by dogs

Sheep worrying incidents have increased since the panedemic as greater numbers of walkers take to the countryside with their dogs in tow Credit: peplow/Getty

Government ‘must commit to improving welfare of animals at slaughter’, say vets

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has welcomed the Review of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations (WATOK), but called on the government to commit to making the improvements outlined in the report.