2026/01/01 by Jarosław Sobolewski, JAGODA JELENIEWSKA, R. Kołacz · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Insect and Pesticide Research #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Healthcare and Venom Research
paper · doi:10.21521/mw.7146
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/05/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Honey bee welfare is an emerging concept situated at the interface of veterinary science, apiculture, animal welfare science and environmental policy. The aim of this review was to discuss the legal status of the honey bee in Poland and the European Union, analyze the applicability of the Five Freedoms concept to honey bee colonies, and critically review the literature supplied for this study. Under the current legal framework, honey bees are not clearly protected by the general animal welfare provisions that apply to vertebrates or to farmed animals under Directive 98/58/EC, yet they are strongly present in animal health, biosecurity and disease-control regulations. The reviewed literature shows that honey bee welfare should be understood both at the individual and superorganism level and is shaped by multiple interacting factors, including queen quality, parasites and pathogens, nutrition, pesticide exposure, thermal conditions, migratory management and beekeeper practices. Contemporary approaches increasingly move beyond a purely productive or disease-centered perspective toward welfare-oriented frameworks such as the Five Domains model and One Welfare. In practice, safeguarding honey bee welfare requires biologically appropriate management, improvement of forage resources, disease prevention, careful monitoring and legal recognition of the species-specific needs of managed bees.