ASHEVILLE, N.C. - North Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill (SB 225) that would require state agencies to look for ways to increase public areas such as highway medians for flowers and trees that bees need for food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates as much as a 30 percent decline in the population in recent years, because of a variety of factors, including loss of habitat.

Apiculturist John Skinner says the recent rain and cold snaps North Carolina has experienced this spring are making things even more difficult.

"They have a lot more mouths to feed and if we get hit by weather patterns that are rainy for a solid week or 10 days, then the bees can consume all of their additional food in the colony and starve to death, at a time when you think 'Hey, the flowers are blooming. It's springtime. Everything is wonderful,'" says Skinner.

In addition to weather patterns, Skinner says parasitic mites, viruses, fungal diseases and pesticides are also impacting the honeybee population. A study released this month by Newcastle University in England finds some bees are "addicted" to nectar that contains pesticides. Pesticides are known to scramble a bee's memory and navigation functions.

April and May are known as "swarm season" in bee-speak, when young honeybees leave their hives to form new ones. Bee City USA is a nonprofit based in Asheville with a goal of helping to preserve bees.

Founder Phyllis Styles says because the new bees have bellies full of honey during this season, it's bees and not humans that should be afraid.

"At the very time they're the least capable of stinging and they're the most vulnerable that they're out in the open, they can't hide in their hives, that's when people go and spray pesticides on them," Styles says.

If you find a swarm of bees, you can call the Extension Service, which keeps a list of beekeepers willing to remove a hive at no cost in order to save the bees.

Charles Foutch has been a beekeeper for more than 50 years and says the increasing price of honey also is tempting beekeepers to over-harvest, leaving bees without enough nourishment to survive.

"They think they leave enough for the bees to survive through the winter," says Foutch. "But if you have a hard winter you find out next spring you've lost some of them, so they've starved to death."

You can help bees by choosing plants for your yard that attract bees such as wildflowers, flowering herbs, berries, sun flowers and more. Grouping the same plants together also is helpful to the insect. About one-third of the food eaten worldwide requires bees for pollination.


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Pork producers are expected to argue against California's animal welfare laws at a hearing Wednesday before the House Committee on Agriculture.

The witnesses all oppose California's Proposition 12, which establishes minimum space requirements for egg-laying hens and breeding pigs and bans the sale of products failing to comply with those standards.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the advocacy group Animal Wellness Action, said factory farms have too much influence on the federal government.

"The American public doesn't support confining an animal so severely that she can't even turn around," Pacelle asserted. "These crates and cages that they jam breeding sows and laying hens into don't give the animals any opportunity to move."

Across the country, 1,200 producers already comply with Proposition 12 and currently supply pork and eggs to California, according to a report released this week by Animal Wellness Action.

Last week, the Department of Justice sued the State of California, seeking to invalidate parts of Proposition 12, arguing the standards are expensive to implement and drive up the cost of eggs.

Pacelle noted avian flu reduced the supply of eggs and drove up prices. He added California pork and egg producers have already spent millions to comply with Proposition 12.

"The egg producers in California want to keep that law," Pacelle contended. "They don't want to be undercut by cheap eggs coming from Mexico or Iowa, where the animals are jammed, wing to wing, shoulder to shoulder, and can't even move. I mean, giving the animal space may cost a couple of pennies more, but it's what's right."

Congress is considering whether the next Farm Bill should include a proposal to invalidate many state animal welfare laws. The Food Security and Farm Protection Act would overturn Proposition 12 and similar laws in other states.


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A new "Compassion Calculator" launched by the charity portal FarmKind aims to help Coloradans who eat meat improve their animal welfare footprints by funneling small donations to verified nonprofits, similar to how polluting companies buy offsets to reduce their carbon footprints.

Thom Norman, cofounder of FarmKind, said the calculator makes it easy for anyone to help end the controversial practice of factory farming, where large numbers of animals are confined in small spaces to produce dairy, eggs and meat as cheaply as possible.

"Most people agree that factory farming is bad, almost half of people in America say that they want to see a ban on new factory farms," Norman reported. "But people often don't know what they can do to help with this problem."

Proponents of factory farming have argued it is necessary to meet growing demand from a rising global population but Norman believes the marketplace is shifting. One recipient of the donations, The Humane League, led successful campaigns to get McDonald's, Panera, Starbucks and Taco Bell to stop using eggs from hens confined in cages so small, birds could not stretch their wings or stand upright.

The shift to cage-free eggs has accelerated after 11 states, including Colorado, set regulations on so-called conventional eggs and the recent bird flu crisis, which led to the loss of more than 125 million U.S. hens.

Norman argued the crowded, high stress conditions in cages are not only inhumane, they also present a clear risk of rapid disease transmission.

"It also is a major driver of public health risks, like for example, antibiotic resistant diseases," Norman stressed. "We feed three quarters of all antibiotics to animals."

FarmKind recently announced its first partnership with a major restaurant chain to use the calculator at scale. Animal welfare effects are offset by three cents per hamburger, and just two cents for an omelet. Norman estimated a three cent offset on last year's global burger sales, less than the cost of a ketchup packet, would have generated nearly $80 million to help create a more humane food system.


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Minnesota's transition to the warmer months has been rough when factoring in air quality.

Just like in 2023, there are occasional bouts of unhealthy smoke from Canadian wildfires and animal experts said pets need protection, too. The American Humane Society said just like their owners, the respiratory systems of dogs and cats can suffer when smoky conditions come on strong.

Dr. Thomas Edling, chief veterinary officer of the Humane Society, said dogs need their outside time on a daily basis but when the air quality is bad, it should to be limited to mainly bathroom breaks. He discussed complications with dogs unable to resist running around.

"Younger dogs, especially, are very prone to doing that," Edling observed. "And when do that, you just make the situation worse, because you are breathing more air in quickly, more particulate matter, things like that."

He added owners should avoid activities like playing fetch during brief outdoor moments with their dog. The Humane Society said older pets and certain breeds, including French bulldogs and pugs, are more susceptible to poor air quality and require extra vigilance.

Edling echoed guidance from other health experts who said when the air is filled with smoke, pet owners should keep their windows and doors closed. If a pet's food and water bowl is normally placed outside, they need to be brought in.

"Those will be a collection point for the particulate matter in the air as it falls down and that debris will contaminate the food and the water," Edling pointed out.

After any outdoor activity, owners are encouraged to monitor their pet for coughing, sneezing and difficulty breathing. If the animal shows signs it breathed in too much unhealthy air, a veterinarian should be consulted for possible treatment.


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