Are beehives on my roof legal?
Are beehives on my roof legal?
Essential to the ecosystem, bees have rightly received a great deal of attention in recent years. However, while it's pleasing that beekeeping is raising awareness among a wide audience, the practice of beekeeping is far from trivial and requires a number of steps to be taken.Honey producers, bees are considered "livestock" in the eyes of the law, i.e. species kept directly or indirectly with a view to producing foodstuffs or providing some other specific service; as a result, anyone wishing to practise beekeeping has a number of legal obligations.Firstly, like all animal species, bees are prone to disease. Firstly, like any other animal species, bees are prone to disease, so beekeepers have a duty of care and a duty to report. Under federal law, beekeepers are obliged to take every precaution to prevent the transmission of diseases to other animals and, if they suspect that a disease has been transmitted, to notify the apiary inspector without delay. In Geneva in particular, you should also register with the Consumer and Veterinary Affairs Department (SCAV) and inform it of any movement of bees.With regard to the installation of beehives, although it may seem surprising, there is no specific legislation in Geneva. There are, however, a number of essential rules, including that you must obtain the agreement of the owner of the building on which you wish to install your beehives, and inform your neighbours.As regards rooftop beekeeping more specifically, there is no law governing this type of activity. However, the SCAV strongly advises against this type of installation because of the potential problems of safety and comfort for the beekeeper arising from meteorological and logistical risks such as severe weather, wind or dangerous access to the roof, which could complicate the extraction of honey.As you will have understood, in order to be fully competent in this area, it is strongly recommended that you take beekeeping training, even if this is not compulsory to keep hives. In the meantime, it remains for us to wish you and all the readers of our favourite newspaper an excellent harvest of other delicacies hidden in sunny gardens this Easter!
