Dear Messenger,
I was wondering if you would do a short story on some honey bees the Council has killed. Bees are so very important to wildlife and already endangered. The Council chose to kill a whole colony that had landed on Stockton Close, even though local bee-keepers take them away for free.
The bees had landed to feast on something spilt on the pavement. Children started to kick them so, in defence, they stung some children. One child had about 17 stings, leading to a trip to hospital. The Council could have called local bee-keepers who take them away for free but claimed, for safety reasons, they had to poison them. My argument was that having them taken away by bee-keepers would have been better.
The poison and dead bees were left on the street for birds to eat and cats to wander through, so that's not safe. Only after a rant on social media did a lady who works for the Council offer to inform her manager and only then someone came to clean the street the day after. It's sad because honey bees are so important and already numbers are low. For them to be poisoned, with no other effort made is sad, as the damage caused to wildlife and nature will be shocking if they are wiped out. According to the social media, the council didn't care much and, when asked if schools would be informed to educate the children and parents on how important they are, I was told that parents need to educate children themselves.
Annie, local resident
The British Bee Keepers Association website lists local beekeepers who can come and collect honey bee swarms for free. It also helps you check what type of bee you have seen. Bee-keepers will only collect honey bees.
Find out more at: http://www.bbka.org.uk
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