Half a Million Honeybees Killed in Netherlands Fire Incident.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced dismay after his 10 beehives were set ablaze in a park in the central city of Almere, causing the death of an estimated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that each hive housed a colony of 40-60,000 bees, and the idea that anyone could destroy them was devastating.
"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he informed local broadcaster.
Law enforcement in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on online platforms.
The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the country's 360 species of bee are at threat of dying out, as the population of bees declines around the world.
Mr Stringer said that police had informed him an accelerant had been employed to burn the colonies, which were placed on pallets in a wooded part of the park.
Barely any of the insects made it through and he noted that he had doubt the arsonist would be apprehended.
Another apiarist a local beekeeper stated on Dutch radio that she had three bee colonies and planned to donate one of them.
For the beekeeper, who looked after the colonies for about nine years, the fire means building a new colony in the park from scratch.
But he insists he will not give up.
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- 'One Million Bees' Lost in Deliberate Hive Fire.
