Zgnilec amerykański jako choroba zakaźna pszczół miodnych – wybrane aspekty prawno-środowiskowe
American foulbrood, as an infectious disease of honey bees – selected legal and environmental aspects

Summary/Abstract: Background: The publication concerns issues related to combating the infectious disease Amer¬ican foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae, AFB), which effects honey bees (Apis mellifera) which is, in light of Polish legal regulations. The presented arguments concentrate, in principle, around the Act of 11 March 2004 on the protection of animal health and combating infectious animal dis¬eases, as well as the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of 11 July 2016 on combating American foulbrood, and the Code of good manufacturing practice in bee¬keeping as a regulation without binding power. In addition, the subject of the article also demon¬strates the role of bees in the entire ecosystem along with statistical data, including the number of beekeepers and bee stumps in Poland for the years 2009–2018 and the number of American foulbrood outbreaks in Poland in the years 2012–2018. Research purpose: The research thesis aims to answer the basic question – do the solutions ad¬opted in Polish legislation sufficiently protect the honey bee population from the threat of Amer¬ican foulbrood. Methods: The publication formally and dogmatically analyses a legal text from the perspective of biological and veterinary sciences. For this purpose, the study also used information obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of the Environment, the Institute of Horticulture, the Apiculture Division in Puławy, as well as audit reports by the Su¬preme Audit Office. Conclusions: According to the authors, Polish legal regulations in the field of combating Amer¬ican foulbrood should be assessed positively, if only due to the fact that as the only infectious disease of honey bees in the territory of the Republic of Poland, it has been subject to mandatory control since 1946. However, this does not mean that there are no shortcomings in the analysed legal regulations. For example, there is the lack of a statutory obligation to register established apiaries in veterinary organizational units, which are used by all the entities maintaining bees, and which give information on any change in the legal or actual status related to the business.

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