500,000 Honeybees Killed in Dutch Arson Attack.
A Dutch beekeeper has expressed dismay after his 10 beehives were burned down in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the death of an approximated 500,000 bees.
The beekeeper mentioned that every colony contained a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that anyone could destroy them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my 10 hives have perished," he told regional media.
Police in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for witnesses after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on social media.
The Dutch government reports that more than half of the country's 360 species of bee are at threat of extinction, as the number of bees decreases globally.
The beekeeper explained that police had informed him an flammable substance had been used to burn the hives, which were placed on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the garden.
Barely any of the insects made it through and he said that he had little faith the perpetrator would be caught.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper told national radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to give him one of them.
For the beekeeper, who looked after the bees for about almost a decade, the incident means building a fresh hive in the area from the beginning.
But he insists he will not give up.
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