Half a Million Bees Killed in Netherlands Arson Attack.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has expressed dismay after his ten colonies were burned down in a public garden in the central city of Almere, resulting in the loss of an approximated half a million bees.
Harold Stringer stated that each hive housed a population of 40-60,000 bees, and the idea that someone could kill them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he informed regional media.
Police in Almere, which sits to the east of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the arson attack on Tuesday evening in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted pictures of the blaze on social media.
The Dutch government says that over 50% of the nation's 360 species of bee are at risk of extinction, as the number of bees declines around the world.
The beekeeper said that authorities had told him an flammable substance had been used to ignite the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the garden.
Barely any of the insects made it through and he said that he had doubt the perpetrator would be apprehended.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman told national radio that she had three hives and wanted to donate a colony.
For Mr Stringer, who cared for the colonies for about almost a decade, the fire means building a new colony in the park from the beginning.
But he affirms he will not give up.
Related Events
- A Million Bees Killed in Deliberate Hive Fire.
