Tears of joy for Kempsey beekeepers given late reprieve from destroying hives due to varroa mite

The Costa family was expecting to no longer have a beekeeping business by the end of the week. Key points: The decision to shift the national strategy from eradication to management came on Wednesday morning Many beekeepers say they are relieved, but warn the mental trauma of eradication efforts remain Mara Roger's bee hives at Kempsey were just hours away from being euthanased Of their nearly 800 hives, nearly 500 had been subjected to forced euthanasia and their remaining hives were slated for disposal. "We had 480 destroyed on an almond farm at Griffith two weeks before the decision to go to management," owner Denille Banham said. "We feel that once the spread of the mite was found in the almond orchards, that the DPI wouldn't have the resources to be able to keep up with the eradication," she said. "There would have been people that could have been looking at suiciding because of the toll it's been having on their families and their finances, their mental health," she said.