Half a Million Bees Perish in Dutch Fire Incident.
A Dutch beekeeper has expressed shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the city of Almere, resulting in the death of an estimated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that every colony contained a colony of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he told local broadcaster.
Police in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for observers after the arson attack on Tuesday evening in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted pictures of the fire on online platforms.
The Dutch government reports that more than half of the nation's 360 species of bee are at threat of dying out, as the number of bees decreases globally.
The beekeeper explained that authorities had told him an accelerant had been used to ignite the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the garden.
Barely any of the bees survived and he said that he had little faith the arsonist would be caught.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper stated on Dutch radio that she had three hives and planned to donate one of them.
For Mr Stringer, who looked after the bees for about nine years, the incident means building a new colony in the area from scratch.
But he affirms he will continue his efforts.
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