Stung by the system: Racine County homeowner gets a lawyer after learning her honeybees have to go



RACINE COUNTY (WITI) -- Stung by the system? After getting notice that her bee hives have to go, a Racine County woman says she had permission to get them in the first place.

Debi Fuller says the response from her neighbors in regards to her bees has been mostly positive -- though she says she knows of one family that worries their grandchildren might get stung.

Fuller says she's committed to keeping the bees.

"They`ve been producing honey at just a rapid rate this year," Fuller said.

Fuller has three honeybee hives in her backyard in the Town of Dover. It's part of her sustainable lifestyle.

"My vegetables have just tripled in production just since having them," Fuller said.

To demonstrate just how comfortable they are living with thousands of bees, Fuller's husband picked one up with his finger.

"They`re extremely docile. My husband, our dogs -- we`ve never been stung. Not even once," Fuller said.

The Fullers got their first hives a year-and-a-half ago. Fuller says she was concerned about the decline of honeybees nationally, and knew that unlike hornets, they aren't quick to sting.

But in May, after a complaint from a neighbor, Fuller got notice that the bees have to go.

"I got a certified letter in the mail and it said that I had to move my hives," Fuller said.

It came as a surprise to Fuller, who says she did her due diligence and got verbal permission from Racine County and the township.

"I called Racine County zoning and they told me that I was good to go, but that I should check with the township and if they say unequivocally no, there was nothing in my way, I could proceed with beehives," Fuller said.

In June, Fuller was served with a citation.

"There is a fine. It`s 300 some dollars, but that will mount almost on a daily basis," Fuller said.

It turns out in Racine County, honeybees can only be kept in agricultural zones -- not in residential ones.

Fuller is now on the defensive, and has hired a lawyer.

"I`ve been placed in a position where I have to defend my property rights as well as my rights to have bees," Fuller said.

Fuller thinks someone in Racine County must have given her the wrong information.

She lives in a residential zone, near farm fields, a nature preserve and a lake.

Racine County Executive Jim Ladwig says the county has an obligation to investigate complaints and enforce the rules. He says he can't comment on whether someone gave Fuller permission to have the bees -- because that's hard to verify, but he says this may eventually have to be decided by a judge.