Half a million bees were killed in an arson attack in the Netherlands

A Dutch beekeeper spoke of his shock after 10 beehives burned in a park in the central city of Almere, leading to the loss of an estimated half a million bees.

Each hive contained a colony of 40 to 60,000 bees, and the idea that anyone could kill them was horrifying, Harold Stringer said.

“It is really painful that all 10 beehives died,” he told local radio Omrup Flevoland.

The police in Almere, which is located east of Amsterdam, appealed for witnesses after the arson attack that occurred on Tuesday evening in the city’s picturesque Beatrix Park. They posted pictures of the fire on social media.

The Dutch government says more than half of the country’s 360 bee species are at risk of extinction, with bee numbers declining worldwide.

Mr Stringer said police told him an accelerant had been used to burn beehives that were placed on platforms in a wooded part of the park.

Barely any of the bees escaped, and he said he had no confidence the arsonist would be caught.

Fellow beekeeper Helen Niemann told Dutch radio that she has three bee colonies and wants to give him one of them.

For Mr Stringer, who has been looking after bees for about nine years, the fire meant creating a new colony in the garden from scratch.

But he insists he will not give up.