500,000 Bees Killed in Dutch Deliberate Blaze.
A Dutch beekeeper has voiced dismay after his 10 beehives were burned down in a public garden in the city of Almere, resulting in the death of an approximated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that each hive housed a colony of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my 10 hives have died," he informed local broadcaster.
Police in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted images of the blaze on online platforms.
The Netherlands authorities reports that over 50% of the country's 360 species of bee are at risk of extinction, as the number of bees declines globally.
Mr Stringer said that authorities had told him an accelerant had been employed to ignite the hives, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the garden.
Almost none of the insects made it through and he noted that he had doubt the arsonist would be caught.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper stated on Dutch radio that she had three bee colonies and planned to give him one of them.
For Mr Stringer, 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 affirms he will not give up.
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