500,000 Bees Killed in Netherlands Arson Attack.
A Dutch beekeeper has expressed shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the central city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated 500,000 bees.
The beekeeper mentioned that each hive housed a population of 40-60,000 bees, and the thought that anyone could kill them was devastating.
"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he told local broadcaster.
Law enforcement in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They shared images of the blaze on online platforms.
The Dutch government says that over 50% of the nation's 360 species of bee are at threat of extinction, as the number of bees decreases globally.
The beekeeper explained that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been used to ignite the colonies, which were placed on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the garden.
Barely any of the insects survived and he said that he had doubt the perpetrator would be apprehended.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper stated on Dutch radio that she had three hives and planned to donate one of them.
For the beekeeper, who cared for the colonies for about almost a decade, the fire means starting a new colony in the park from scratch.
But he insists he will not give up.
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