500,000 Bees Perish in Netherlands Fire Incident.
A Dutch beekeeper has expressed shock after his ten colonies were burned down in a park in the central city of Almere, causing the loss of an approximated half a million bees.
The beekeeper mentioned that each hive contained a colony of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he informed regional media.
Police in Almere, which sits to the east of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared images of the fire on online platforms.
The Netherlands authorities reports that over 50% of the country's 360 types of bee are at threat of extinction, as the population of bees decreases globally.
Mr Stringer explained that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been used to ignite the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the park.
Almost none of the insects survived and he noted that he had doubt the perpetrator would be apprehended.
Fellow beekeeper Heleen Nieman told national radio that she had three hives and planned to give him a colony.
For Mr Stringer, who looked after the bees for about almost a decade, the fire means building a new colony in the park from scratch.
But he affirms he will not give up.
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