New Veterinary Feed Directive regulations are will apply to beekeepers’ apiaries. Yes, bees are considered livestock by the federal government. European foulbrood is a bacterial disease that affects honeybee larvae before the capped state and is characterized by dead and dying larvae in the hive. It is treated with oxytetracycline sold under the trade name Terramycin and is currently available online or at agricultural feed stores. Effective, January 1, 2017 apiarists must work with a veterinarian to obtain a prescription based on a veterinary-client-hive relationship.
Source: Bangor Daily News, August 22, 2016, via AVMA Smartbrief.
Recognizing that the push behind the policy is keeping antibiotics out of the foodstream, Richard McLaughlin, master beekeeper, said bees got caught up in the process. When treating for foulbrood, he said, beekeepers take steps to ensure there is no honey production going on in the infected hive for three weeks after the final dose of antibiotics is administered.