Regional Act No. 42 laying down provisions for the improvement and development of apiculture Country/Territory Italy Territorial subdivision Molise Document type Legislation Date 2002 Source FAO, FAOLEX Original source Bollettino Ufficiale della Regione Molise No. 30, 31 December 2002 Subject Livestock Keyword Agricultural development Animal health Animal production Apiculture/sericulture Certification Institution Internal trade Pests/diseases Subsidy/incentive Registration Offences/penalties Geographical area Alps, Europe, Europe and Central Asia, European Union Countries, Mediterranean, Southern Europe Entry into force notes This Regional Act came into force on 1 January 2003. Abstract The Molise Region hereby encourages all initiatives intended to protect and improve local apiculture and related products. Article 2 gives several definitions, such as “bee keeper”, “apiary" and “nomadism”, in order to clearly define the application scope of these provisions. Honey, pollen, beeswax, royal jelly, bees and queen bees fall within the definition of agricultural commodities. The Region is entitled under article 3 to allocate financial resources and grant subsidies with a view to supporting the development of apiculture in the Molise Region. Article 5 determines the conditions and requirements to be met to benefit from the subsidies aforementioned. Article 6 provides for the setting up of the Regional Observatory for Apiculture and regulates its tasks and duties. On the other side, article 7 establishes the Technical Committee for Apiculture, whose functions are described in article 8. Article 9 fixes minimum distances among apiaries. Bee keepers shall be registered in the Regional Register of Apiculture referred to in article 10. Articles 11 and 12 establish a monitoring system intended to control and prevent the spread of diseases. As regards the marketing of live bees, a sanitary certificate shall be compulsory in accordance with article 13. Article 15 establishes the administrative sanctions to be applied in case of infringement. Article 18 provides for the setting up of the Regional Register of Queen Bees’ Farmers. Full text Italian Website www.gazzettaufficiale.it