One of the last remaining populations of the European honeybee
Apis mellifera mellifera is threatened. These are the Black Bees on
Laeso, an isolated Danish island that lies west of Sweden in the
Kattegat Sea. In 1992 Denmark signed the Rio Convention on
Biological Diversity, and the law was passed for Laeso Island to be-
come a protected area where only beekeeping with the Black Bees
is allowed. After this, beekeepers who kept other bees claimed
compensation, although this claim was later dropped. They also took
their case to the European Court in Luxemburg, but were unsuccessful.
The Court ruled that the Preservation Order on the Laeso Black Bee
was a requirement of the Danish Government, and that no other
race of bees should be allowed on the Island. Today on Laeso there
are about 30 beekeepers using Black Bees, and just a few who contin-
ue to fight the ban and illegally use other bees, and even import bees.
This has led to recent introduction of Varroa and Acarapis mites.
Now however, the Danish Minister of Agriculture has decided that
it is in the interests of human liberty for the few, vocal, beekeepers
who request it, to be allowed to take in other races of bees to the
Island, and that only a small part of the Island will be a protected
area for the Black Bees. The Island of Laeso is only 25 km long;
therefore, as every beekeeper will understand, it is not possible to
keep the populations of bees separate.
The Danish Beekeepers Federation has fought hard to protect the
Black Bees, eventhough its own government subsidy is at stake.
The majority of beekeepers in Denmark want the Black Bees on
Laeso to be protected. This is a precious resource, not just for
Denmark but also in world terms.

Source: "Bees for Development Journal", No.74, March 2005.