South Africa: Beekeepers are hit hard by beehive theft

The theft of beehives in South Africa has increased drastically in the last five years and poses serious challenges to the industry. Louis van Zyl, chairman of the South African Bee Industry Organization (Sabio), says bee producers nationwide are financially harmed by this crime. Theft is especially a big headache in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and now also in the North West. He says there are about 30 commercial bee producers in the country and each has more than a thousand beehives. Five years ago, around 10% of the producers' beehives were stolen annually. This has meanwhile increased to 40% per year, which is a significant increase compared to damage caused by vandalism to beehives. The situation in the North West In the North West, the increase in beehive theft on farms is a frustration for bee producers. Criminals particularly target Lichtenburg and surrounding areas, but it is not limited to this area. Unfortunately, all these incidents are not always reported to the ...