500,000 Honeybees Killed in Netherlands Fire Incident.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the central city of Almere, causing the death of an estimated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that every colony contained a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It really hurts that my 10 hives have perished," he informed regional media.
Law enforcement in Almere, located to the east of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted images of the fire on online platforms.
The Dutch government says that over 50% of the country's 360 species of bee are at threat of dying out, as the population of bees decreases globally.
Mr Stringer said that authorities had told him an flammable substance had been employed to burn the colonies, which were placed on pallets in a forested area of the park.
Almost none of the insects survived and he said that he had little faith the perpetrator would be apprehended.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman stated on Dutch radio that she had three hives and wanted to donate one of them.
For Mr Stringer, who looked after the colonies for about almost a decade, the incident means building a fresh hive in the area from scratch.
But he affirms he will continue his efforts.
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