Local bee keeper stung by recent theft | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Vernon News

Local bee keeper stung by recent theft

Image Credit: Wikipedia/Muhammad Mahdi Karim

VERNON - Thieves made off with a sweet score last week in Coldstream — bee hives.

The bee-keeper notified police July 18 that five of his beehives had been stolen from the 7900 block of McClounie Road.

Each hive weighed between 100-300 pounds and were worth at least $3,000 altogether. Long term, the hives would have made well over $10,000, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says.

“The sad thing is there’s a lot of work that goes into (it),” Molendyk says. “To the individual who has lost them it would be like losing livestock.”

Because there were numerous bees still in the area, it’s believed the theft occurred recently, while the property owner was away for a few days.

The beekeeper thinks the thieves — at least two of them to lift the hives — struck at night and likely loaded the hives into a truck or an SUV.

Molendyk says these aren't the first bee hives targeted. There were incidents last fall as well, and police are now urging beekeepers to be extra vigilant.

“It’s lucrative for the individuals who are stealing them,” Molendyk says. “It’s not something that is easily traceable, there are no serial numbers and the honey in it is a valuable commodity.”

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the Vernon at 250-545-7171 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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