Thieves sting beekeeping site

Up to 50 bee hives have been stolen in a weekend heist at Kiwi Bee Waikato.

The hives were taken from the Waipapa Road site, south-east of Te Awamutu.


Kiwi Bee Waikato hives were there on Friday and gone on Monday, leaving branch manager Harald Aalderink and staff gutted. Photos: Kelly Hodel. Fairfax NZ

The theft is far from uncommon with sites targeted around the country.

The National Beekeepers Association says the crime could be linked to the 'manuka boom”.

'We felt really gutted,” says Waikato branch manager Harald Aalderink.

'It's really a shock that the whole yard was cleaned out. I can't believe it."

The business is a Comvita subsidiary and produces manuka honey from around 8000 hives.

Aalderink thought the thieves would take the hives out of the region, possibly up north where the honey flow has started early.

'Sometimes we think they steal to order,” says Haralad. 'You have to know what you're doing.”

Each hive had just one box and no honey, but they're worth approximately $400 each and weigh about 20kg.

Security options such as cameras and GPS trackers are being considered as an option in light of the latest theft.

Harald believes the boom in manuka honey could be behind increasing thefts. Last season the honey sold for about $30/kg.

'There's so much money involved.”

The theory behind the thefts are that beekeepers themselves are stealing the hives because specialist knowledge is needed when handling them.

People who have information about the thefts are asked to contact Te Awamutu Police on: 07 872 0100.

Alternatively, information can be left anonymously via Crimestoppers on: 0800 555 111.


The stolen Kiwi Bee Waikato hives had a distinctive groove for the barcode and a branded strap.

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2 comments

Karma

Posted on 26-08-2015 16:35 | By Calm Gully

Hope the bees bite them on the bum. :(


Wrong place

Posted on 26-08-2015 20:28 | By rosbo

A bit further forward than that!!


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