Half a Million Honeybees Perish in Dutch Arson Attack.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has expressed shock after his ten colonies were burned down in a public garden in the central city of Almere, causing the death of an estimated half a million bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that every colony contained a colony of 40-60,000 bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my 10 hives have perished," he told regional media.
Law enforcement in Almere, which sits to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on social media.
The Netherlands authorities reports that over 50% of the nation's 360 species of bee are at threat of dying out, as the number of bees decreases globally.
Mr Stringer explained that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been employed to burn the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a forested area of the garden.
Almost none of the bees made it through and he said that he had little faith the arsonist would be caught.
Another apiarist a local beekeeper stated on Dutch radio that she had three hives and planned to donate one of them.
For Mr Stringer, who cared for the colonies for about nine years, the fire means building a fresh hive in the area from the beginning.
But he affirms he will not give up.
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