The Globe and Mail has published a lively article that gives a glimpse inside the buzzing world of city apiarists in Canada. It tells of several “small-time criminals,” who flouted local laws and bribed their neighbours with honey, making for some light-hearted reading — that raises a few points to ponder.

Laws vary between municipalities across the rest of the country, but most cities limit the number of hives or ban urban beekeeping, generally out of concerns over health, safety and agricultural management.

Yet in backyards, on porches and on rooftops across Canada, a growing number of urban apiarists are quietly tending their hives, many discreetly tucked behind a tall hedge or fence….

And generally, neighbours are happy to keep their mouths shut - in exchange for pollinated geraniums and a small gift to sweeten the deal.

Some 10,000 beekeepers keep hives that are properly registered with the provincial agriculture departments in this country — but the numbers of illegal beekeepers are hard to estimate.

Bee officials rarely receive complaints about urban beekeepers - and when they do, it usually has less to do with bees than “neighbours not getting along,” says Mr. Halsall, who inspects bees in the Ottawa area.

Ontario law forbids the keeping of bees within 30 metres of a property line, which pretty much rules out any kind of apiculture on small urban and suburban lots. The city of Vancouver, on the other hand, lifted its ban on beekeeping in 2005. Here in New Brunswick, the situation seems to vary from one municipality to another…

As the interest in honey bees grows, and industry education efforts help the general public to appreciate the role of honey bees in food production and ecology, can we expect to see more backyard bee hives in Canadian cities and suburbs?

See:
Honey, I’m home: They hide behind hedges and bribe neighbours not to reveal their crimes. Inside the buzzing world of city apiarists by Hayley Mick
The Globe and Mail, 27 July 2007

See also: comments on the newspaper article from Globe and Mail readers.