Improving honeybee welfare and protection

Honeybees are kept and managed by humans for producing food for human consumption as well as for their pollination services as the dominate species used for pollination-dependent crop production, making them a vital component of sustainable agriculture and global food security.

Despite empirical evidence of their complex mental capacities, honeybees remain excluded from ethical or welfare considerations.

Given the increasing interest in keeping honeybees, the practices employed in apiculture and how the impact the physiological and behavioural wellbeing of honeybees need comprehensive evaluation to ensure the protection of honeybees and improve the competitiveness and sustainability of beekeeping. This project is the first to comprehensively investigate welfare and ethical aspects in honeybee management practice.

Specific objectives of this project include:Define the full extent of honeybee and insect welfare and ethical issues and gaps in knowledge through a comprehensive literature review,Identify key stakeholder attitudes and views through surveys and focus groups,Assess honeybee welfare baselines related to physiological and behavioral health and stress,Identify beekeeping practices that influence honeybee welfare.The interdisciplinary approach of this project coupled with the range of experience between scientific and stakeholder participants will ensure significant advancements through this project to improve honeybee welfare and protection.