500,000 Honeybees Perish in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.
A Dutch beekeeper has voiced dismay after his 10 beehives were set ablaze in a park in the city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that someone could kill them was horrific.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have died," he informed regional media.
Law enforcement in Almere, located to the east of Amsterdam, have appealed for witnesses after the arson attack on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on online platforms.
The Dutch government reports that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at threat of dying out, as the population of bees decreases around the world.
Mr Stringer said that police had informed him an accelerant had been employed to burn the hives, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the park.
Almost none of the insects made it through and he noted that he had little faith the perpetrator would be caught.
Another apiarist a local beekeeper stated on national radio that she had three bee colonies and planned to donate a colony.
For Mr Stringer, who cared for the bees for about almost a decade, the fire means starting a fresh hive in the park from the beginning.
But he affirms he will not give up.
Related Events
- 'One Million Bees' Lost in Deliberate Hive Fire.
