500,000 Honeybees Killed in Dutch Deliberate Blaze.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced dismay after his ten colonies were burned down in a public garden in the central city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated 500,000 bees.
The beekeeper stated that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that anyone could kill them was horrific.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he told local broadcaster.
Police in Almere, located to the east of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the fire on social media.
The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the nation's 360 species of bee are at risk of dying out, as the population of bees declines globally.
The beekeeper explained that police had told him an accelerant had been used to burn the hives, which were placed on pallets in a forested area of the garden.
Almost none of the insects survived and he noted that he had little faith the arsonist would be apprehended.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper told Dutch radio that she had three hives and wanted to donate a colony.
For the beekeeper, who cared for the bees for about nine years, the incident means building a new colony in the area from the beginning.
But he insists he will continue his efforts.
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