500,000 Bees Killed in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced dismay after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the central city of Almere, causing the death of an estimated half a million bees.
Harold Stringer stated that every colony housed a colony of 40-60,000 bees, and the idea that anyone could destroy them was horrific.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he informed regional media.
Law enforcement in Almere, located to the east of Amsterdam, have appealed for witnesses after the arson attack on Tuesday evening in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted images of the fire on social media.
The Dutch government says that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at threat of dying out, as the population of bees decreases globally.
Mr Stringer said that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been employed to ignite the colonies, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the park.
Barely any of the insects survived and he noted that he had little faith the arsonist would be caught.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman stated on Dutch radio that she had three hives and wanted to give him one of them.
For the beekeeper, who cared for the colonies for about nine years, the incident means starting a fresh hive in the park from scratch.
But he affirms he will not give up.
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