500,000 Bees Perish in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.
A Dutch beekeeper has voiced shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated half a million bees.
The beekeeper stated that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that anyone could destroy them was devastating.
"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he informed regional media.
Police in Almere, which sits to the east of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday night in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They posted pictures of the blaze on social media.
The Dutch government says that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at risk of extinction, as the number of bees declines around the world.
Mr Stringer said that authorities had told him an accelerant had been used to burn the hives, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the park.
Barely any of the insects made it through and he noted that he had little faith the perpetrator would be caught.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman stated on Dutch radio that she had three bee colonies and planned to donate a colony.
For the beekeeper, who looked after the colonies for about nine years, the fire means building a fresh hive in the park from scratch.
But he affirms he will continue his efforts.
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