20-02-2025
West Virginia legislature considering bill on who regulates beekeeping
CHARLESTON, (WBOY) — The West Virginia Legislature is considering a bill that would clarify who has the authority to regulate beekeeping following a lawsuit in 2024 involving a beekeeper who was barred from his practice by his city.
If passed, House Bill 2454 would reaffirm the state's sole ability to regulate beekeeping as described in the West Virginia Apiary Act. The proposal comes in the aftermath of a beekeeping lawsuit by South Charleston resident Alex Urban, who won his suit against the city after it denied his request to keep honeybees on his property.
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Advocates for House Bill 2454 see it as a way to prevent city and county governments from interfering with their beekeeping. The Monongalia County Beekeepers Association plans to go to Charleston to advocate for the bill on Thursday.
'If you're a small-time farmer, if you're a homesteader, the income from that honey or the health benefits from that honey can be paramount to you so it's not really fair that city governments would even try to regulate that,' Monongalia County Beekeepers Association President Mike Lamp said.
You can read the full bill here.
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