Beekeeper feels sting of ‘systematic theft’

An Italian beekeeper is seeking protection, saying that about 10 per cent of his bees were stolen from Gozo this year in what he termed “systematic theft”.

Ermanno De Chino, owner of Melita Bees, said eight colonies were stolen from Xlendi on Sunday, just a few days after 14 were taken from Marsalforn. The thefts dated back to spring when Mr De Chino said he lost a further 20 colonies.

The beekeeper said the latest theft was the most damaging because the colonies contained bees that had been brought from Finland specifically to produce queens for the Finnish market.

“It is a huge loss for us but only a paltry gain for the person who has stolen them, since the bees’ genetics are not suitable for the Maltese environment,” he said.

Mr De Chino, whose operation is one of Malta’s largest, said he wrote to Agriculture Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes on Monday after filing several police reports and providing details of a car whose driver was found in the apiaries at night.

He said that he had not received feedback from the police on the progress ofany investigations.

In a reply seen by this newspaper, Mr Galdes said he would write to the police authorities “to indicate the...