500,000 Honeybees Killed in Netherlands Fire Incident.
A Dutch beekeeper has voiced shock after his 10 beehives were burned down in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the death of an estimated half a million bees.
The beekeeper stated that every colony contained a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that anyone could kill them was horrific.
"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he informed local broadcaster.
Law enforcement in Almere, which sits to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday night in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They posted images of the blaze on social media.
The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the country's 360 species of bee are at risk of extinction, as the number of bees declines around the world.
Mr Stringer said that authorities had informed him an flammable substance had been used to burn the hives, which were sitting on pallets in a forested area of the garden.
Barely any of the bees made it through and he noted that he had doubt the perpetrator would be caught.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman told national radio that she had three hives and wanted to give him one of them.
For the beekeeper, who cared for the colonies for about nine years, the incident means starting a new colony in the park from scratch.
But he insists he will continue his efforts.
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- 'One Million Bees' Lost in Deliberate Hive Fire.
