It is the exporter's responsibility to ensure that the animal meets the importing country requirements.

Information about the process required to import animals into Canada can be found on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website. 

Note

Wh​ere an importing country issues an import permit, the exporter must ensure the animal meets any requirements in the permit.

I, Dr ___________________, a duly authorised government veterinary officer, hereby certify that:

1. The disease free status of Australia (as previously approved by the CFIA) has been confirmed as follows:
1. Africanized genetics — Australia is designated by Canada as free from clinical or epidemiological evidence of the African honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) and Africanized honey bee hybrids including European honey bee hybrids with Africanized honey bees.
   
2. Australia is free from Tropilaelaps spp.
   
2. The apiary is certified free from bee diseases as follows:
1. The premises have been certified for small hive beetle (SHB) (Aethina tumida) as follows:
   
   
   1. a) ​All packing and shipping location(s) on the apiary premises from which the honey bee queens have been prepared for shipping to Canada have been inspected for SHB with negative results by Federal or State apiary inspector within 90 days prior to export. The packing and shipping location(s) were indoors, certified to be free from SHB and certified to be inaccessible to entry by SHB at any time during packing and shipping.
   
   
2. A declaration (attached) has been signed by the owner/exporter providing assurances to the Federal or State apiary inspector that they have knowledge of the Canadian import requirements and will comply with the following requirements:
   
   
   1. i) All packing of the queens and attendants into cages and then into shipping boxes for export must be done in the inspected area(s).
      
      
   2. ii) All queens and attendant worker bees must be caught by hand and placed in new queen cages with ventilation holes no longer than 2 mm x 2mm or if longer than 2 mm are no wider than 1 mm. Worker bee attendants (2-6 attendants per queen) have been placed in individual queen cages with the queen and not loose in a battery box. Queen cages filled with queens and attendants must be stored in the designated and inspected packing and shipping location(s) until shipping.
      
   
   
3. The bees are free from contamination with the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) as follows:
   
   
   1. i) The bees or germplasm have originated from an apiary certified free from contamination with Asian honey bee (Apis cerana).
   
   
4. Varroosis of honey bees remains a notifiable disease in Australia:
   
   
   1. i)There have been no cases of Varroa jacobsoni reported for at least 12 months immediately prior to export within a 50 kilometre radius of the apiary of origin.
      
      
   2. ii) Queen bee units originate from an apiary located in an Australian State or Territory declared Varroa destructor-free. Varroa destructor has not been detected in this State or Territory for at least 3 years immediately prior to export and the State or Territory is recognised to be free of Varroa destructor;
      
      
   3. OR
      
      
   4. iii) Inspection for Varroa has been completed by a competent authority of Australia within 90 days prior to export:
      
      
      1. - Five percent (5%) of the colonies or a minimum of 25 bee colonies (whichever is greater) have been randomly selected and examined from each of the queen production and mating apiaries from which bees will be exported.
      2. - For queen bees for export sourced from multiple queen production and mating apiaries:
         
         
      3. a) For apiaries located within a 10km range of each other which are commonly managed, a minimum of five percent (5%) of the total number of colonies or a minimum of 25 bee colonies (whichever is greater) have been randomly selected and examined from each of the queen production and mating apiaries from which bees will be exported. A minimum of five colonies from each apiary site (or all colonies for sites with less than five colonies) have been examined.
         
         
      4. b) Queen bees shipped in queen cages that have been collected from mating nuclei immediately prior to shipping have been inspected as follows:
         
         
         • The queen cell building colonies and colonies used as donor colonies of bees to the nuclei have been inspected by alcohol washing of bee samples (200-300 bees collected from brood combs). The number of colonies inspected was as described above. The sample of bees was placed in a basket, immersed in a solution of alcohol and the basket shaken for a period of at least 2 minutes.
         
         
      5. c) Queen bees shipped in queen cages that have been kept in queen banking colonies immediately prior to shipping have been inspected as follows:
         
         
         • Queen banking colonies have been inspected by alcohol washing of bee samples (300 bees collected from the brood combs) using the protocol mentioned above.
         
         
      6. - If varroa is not detected or the average infestation for the apiary is 1% or less (1 mite per 100 bees tested), queen bee units will be allowed.
      7. - If varroa is found at an average level above 1% in the export operation, the export operation must treat colonies with a product that is registered in the country of origin. The export operation must be re-tested according to the above protocol prior to shipping bees to confirm that the level of varroa is 1% or less.
   ​
   
3. ​The apiary of origin has been inspected by a competent authority of Australia within 90 days prior to export and did not have any visible clinical evidence of American foulbrood (AFB) or European foulbrood (EFB). ​
   
   
   1. Five percent (5%) of the colonies or a minimum of 25 bee colonies (whichever is greater) have been randomly selected and examined from each of the queen production and mating apiaries from which bees will be exported. Inspection for AFB and EFB has occurred within 90 days prior to export.
   2. For queen bees for export sourced from multiple queen production and mating apiaries:
      
      
      1. i) For apiaries located within a 10km range of each other which are commonly managed, a minimum of five percent (5%) of the total number of colonies or a minimum of 25 bee colonies (whichever is greater) have been randomly selected and examined from each of the queen production and mating apiaries from which bees will be exported. A minimum of five colonies from each apiary site (or all colonies for sites with less than five colonies) have been examined.
      
      
   3. Bee colonies have been inspected as follows:
      
      
      1. i) ​​Brood has been visually examined for symptoms of AFB or EFB. At least three (3) brood frames per hive were inspected.
         
      
      
4. The bees for export will travel from Australia (Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane or Perth) either:
1. Directly to Canada;
   OR
2. Via one of the following approved routes – Hawaii, USA (where no change in aeroplane will occur); San Francisco, or Los Angeles, USA; Seoul, Korea; Singapore; Hong Kong; or London, United Kingdom;
   OR
3. By an alternative route approved in writing by CFIA (delete as applicable)

The declaration is attached to this certificate.

Pre-export preparations

There are particular requirements for packaging the honey bees for export and these need to be declared with the declaration being attached to the health certificate

• Declaration regarding packaging — Canada 25112016 (DOC 50 KB)

Transport requirements

There are requirements for transportation and approved routes for exporting honey bees and these need to be declared with the declaration being attached to the health certificate

• Declaration regarding transportation — Canada 25112016 (DOCX 30 KB)

Based on a health certificate that was agreed on 9 February 2024.

Entry last reviewed 14 February 2024.​