35 bee hives destroyed in Gromignana

In a week where the local news has been dominated in this area by the apparent poisoning of a number of dogs by person or persons unknown ( tests are still being made and the results of the autopsy on one of the dogs are still to be published so at the moment, nothing is certain  – article here)  comes news of another attack this time not on man’s “best friend” but certainly  a living being without whose help the world would be a far, far  poorer  and hungrier place – the humble and constantly working bee.

Some time over the last three days somebody decided that the 35 hives which were positioned in a field just outside Gromignana,  had no right to be there and so taking the law into their own hands,  he, she or they knocked over every single hive.

The owners of the hives only discovered this morning just what had happened when by chance they called into Gromignana to check on the bees.

According to one of the owners, it’s not the first time that their hives have been vandalised,  the last time it happened  was a year ago in nearby Bagni di Lucca  when somebody knocked over five hives to show their displeasure at the presence of the bees.  Then the message was clear and the other 25 hives were shortly moved to another “safer” place.

This time the person or persons responsible knocked over every single hive destroying bees,  honeycombs and honey.