Half a Million Bees Killed in Netherlands Fire Incident.
A Dutch beekeeper has expressed shock after his ten colonies were burned down in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the loss of an approximated half a million bees.
Harold Stringer stated that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that anyone could destroy them was horrific.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he told local broadcaster.
Police in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They posted images of the fire on online platforms.
The Dutch government reports that more than half of the country's 360 species of bee are at threat of dying out, as the number of bees declines around the world.
The beekeeper explained that authorities had informed him an flammable substance had been used to burn the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the park.
Almost none of the bees survived and he said that he had little faith the perpetrator would be caught.
Fellow beekeeper Heleen Nieman told national radio that she had three hives and wanted to donate one of them.
For the beekeeper, who looked after the colonies for about almost a decade, the fire means starting a fresh hive in the park from the beginning.
But he insists he will continue his efforts.
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