Sarasota County cannot regulate managed honeybee colonies. Florida Statute 586.10 preempts beekeeping to the state Department of Agriculture, so registration and inspection are handled statewide, not by county ordinance.
Backyard beekeeping in Sarasota County is governed by state law, not local ordinance. Florida Statute 586.10 preempts the authority to regulate, inspect, and permit managed honeybee colonies to the state through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, superseding any conflicting county or municipal ordinance. Beekeepers must register their colonies with the department and comply with Best Management Practices for maintaining European honeybee colonies; the department, not the county, inspects apiaries and can quarantine or destroy diseased hives. A county cannot ban hobby beehives that meet state BMPs.
Enforcement is by the Florida Department of Agriculture: unregistered or non-compliant colonies may be inspected, quarantined, treated, or destroyed under Chapter 586.
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