500,000 Honeybees Perish in Netherlands Arson Attack.
A Dutch beekeeper has voiced dismay after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the central city of Almere, resulting in the death of an approximated half a million bees.
The beekeeper stated that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that anyone could kill them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he informed local broadcaster.
Law enforcement in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared images of the blaze on online platforms.
The Dutch government reports that more than half of the nation's 360 types of bee are at risk of dying out, as the population of bees declines around the world.
The beekeeper said that authorities had told him an flammable substance had been employed to burn the colonies, which were placed on pallets in a wooded part of the garden.
Almost none of the bees survived and he said that he had doubt the perpetrator would be caught.
Another apiarist a local beekeeper stated on national radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to give him a colony.
For the beekeeper, who looked after the bees for about almost a decade, the fire means starting a new colony in the park from the beginning.
But he insists he will continue his efforts.
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