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The Gemeinschaft der europaeischen Buckfastimker e.V. (European Buckfast Beekeepers Federation) has been founded 1976 in Kassel, Germany, by Guenter Ries, who died in 1994. At this point breeding or keeping Buckfast bees was not well acknowledged by both scientists and beekeeping federations and only a few beekeepers admitted openly to keeping them.
The currently shown relative acceptance (at least noticeable on the European continent) we owe first of all to the courage and commitment of the early pioneers, above all of Franz Fehrenbach and the founding members of the Kassel Association.
Today the European Buckfast Beekeepers Federation is a breeding group in the first place and encourages its members to engage in their own breeding activity, be it so-called basic breeding, line breeding, or the true method of breeding Buckfast bees, the combination breeding.
The continual improvement in breeding the Buckfast bee is our main objective. It will be achieved by exchanging experience and knowledge on a broad basis since the honeybee herself does not respect any ideological or geographical restriction.
There are 15 federal and national Associations affiliated to the European Buckfast Beekeepers Federation. The European Buckfast Beekeepers Federation is therefore the largest network of bee breeders and bee breeding groups in Europe.
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