Half a Million Bees Perish in Netherlands Arson Attack.
A Dutch beekeeper has voiced shock after his ten colonies were burned down in a park in the central city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated half a million bees.
Harold Stringer stated that each hive contained a colony of 40-60,000 bees, and the idea that anyone could kill them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he told regional media.
Law enforcement in Almere, which sits to the east of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They shared images of the blaze on social media.
The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the nation's 360 species of bee are at risk of extinction, as the number of bees declines around the world.
Mr Stringer explained that authorities had told him an flammable substance had been used to ignite the hives, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the garden.
Almost none of the bees made it through and he noted that he had little faith the perpetrator would be apprehended.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper stated on national radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to give him one of them.
For the beekeeper, who cared for the colonies for about nine years, the fire means building a new colony in the park from the beginning.
But he affirms he will not give up.
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