Organic Beekeeping in the City Gaining Ground

Feb. 4, 2011 - PRLog -- New York, New York City -  While many cities continue to ban backyard and rooftop beekeeping, a number of trailblazing cities have decided to lift restrictions and allow hobby beekeepers to raise bees. The five boroughs of New York City are the latest ones to cross over and legalize urban beekeeping. Other cities that allow residents to raise bees include Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver and Sta. Monica. (http://www.organic-beekeeping.net)

The move of the city to finally legalize urban beekeeping has been met by jubilation in many locations in the city where for some time, illegal beekeeping has been practiced. Many are hopeful that other cities will follow suit, and legalizing beekeeping will result in better beekeeping management practices.

The interest in urban organic beekeeping has risen together with the movement for self-sufficiency and the desire for more humane ways of keeping bees. With the popularity of city beekeeping, many new tools geared towards the city beekeeper have been introduced.

Take for example the Beepod offered by a company in Wisconsin. This wooden structure is designed to house bees Kenyan Top Bar style, where instead of heavy wooden boxes stacked one after another, you have bars where bees hang and build their comb. It’s more economical, practical and bee-friendly compared to the traditional way of housing bees.

The main contention of cities that continue to ban urban beekeeping is that bees can pose a nuisance and a danger to the population. Many fear the consequences of any significant number of bees living so close to where people live.

Bees are known to sting when provoked or threatened, and bee stings are known to cause allergic reactions of varying degrees. A small percentage of the population - 0.5% of children and 3% of adults will experience a severe allergic reaction causing anaphylaxis after being stung.

What many proponents and supporters of urban beekeeping would like to see is more sensible nuisance laws guiding how bees can be kept in the city, instead of a blanket ban. They maintain that with the proper guidelines, beekeeping and happy neighbors and city dwellers can coexist harmoniously. In addition, bees in cities do provide plenty of benefits to the local flora and fauna.

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