Half a Million Bees Perish in Dutch Deliberate Blaze.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a park in the central city of Almere, causing the death of an estimated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer stated that each hive housed a colony of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that anyone could kill them was horrific.
"It really hurts that my ten colonies have died," he told regional media.
Police in Almere, which sits to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for observers after the arson attack on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They posted pictures of the fire on social media.
The Netherlands authorities reports that more than half of the nation's 360 types of bee are at risk of dying out, as the population of bees decreases globally.
Mr Stringer said that authorities had informed him an flammable substance had been employed to ignite the hives, which were placed on wooden platforms in a forested area of the garden.
Almost none of the bees survived and he noted that he had doubt the arsonist would be caught.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman stated on national radio that she had three hives and wanted to give him a colony.
For Mr Stringer, who looked after the bees for about nine years, the incident means building a fresh hive in the area from scratch.
But he affirms he will not give up.
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