Bee thefts at Coupar Angus

[gavin]

On the beeb's website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-27144233

[HJBee]

Was just about to post this myself. It's getting more prolific. I suppose there are bad people on all walks of life - you just wouldn't think a proper bee keeper would do this. Maybe the ones I know are too nice!

[Calum]

Strange they stole the queens, bees & frames but seem to have left the hives (or were they just padding the report?).
Stealing the hives would have been less work, and hives make excellent kindling.
Though there are tracking systems for complete hives available these days.

I am seriously thinking of buying a "wildlife camera" when they are on sale again at Aldi...

[Trog]

I imagine they took complete colonies and the reporter just misunderstood. No thief would have time to go through colonies and pick out the queens, surely?

[HJBee]

We had experience of a theft this time last year in Renfrewshire. The week before someone had opened them all up and gone through them (strapping & roofs not on right was the clue) we thought it was just someone being nosey until a hive then disappeared, best colony, oldest hive parts.

[crabbitdave]

Hi there, the emba apiary had queens stolen last year, it's very sad to think a fellow beekeeper would do such a thing, we struggle will varroa and diseases get them through a long wet spring only for someone to pinch them.


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[Calum]

Its a terrible thing indeed.
Hive theft is not uncommon here in Germany, what can you really say - there is a normial (?) distribution of theives in every population.
An over supply of colonies and quality stock would aleviate the motivation to some extent.

The worst are the beekeepers that steal hives every year, they dont treat for varroa, they don't feed the colony going into the winter, they just steal another hive or two for the honey it will produce.... Every year...

Like I said, these are on sale (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acorn-Wildlife-Camera-Standard-Infrared/dp/B00873DB5S/ref=sr_1_1?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1398410736&sr=1-1&keywords=camera+wildlife)from time to time in Aldi - I'll be buying one the next time they are in stock...

[gavin]

I'm tempted to invest in one of these, but do you point it at the apiary, or likely parking areas? The trouble is if a beekeeper approaches the hives with felony in mind they're quite likely to be already wearing the usual disguise we all indulge in.

[gavin]

I haven't spoken to Murray but the Dundee Evening Telegraph tells all (Denrosa, not Benrosa, and I'm not sure that Murray still trades under that name).

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/news/local/thieves-create-a-buzz-by-stealing-coupar-angus-bees-1.334879

Perthshire police are on the hunt for some honey-loving thieves who made off with over £1000 of bees.

The raiders made off with six queen bees, a large number of working bees and 18 honeycomb frames from Balgrove Farm at the weekend.

The hives are owned by Coupar Angus-based company Benrosa that has bee farms at more than 100 locations across Perthshire, Angus and Aberdeenshire.

The total value of the theft is estimated to be between £1,000 and £1,500.

Murray McGregor, owner of Benrosa, said: “A team was installing some new colonies at the farm on Friday. When I saw them on Sunday morning they didn’t look correct.

“When I investigated the hives I discovered that some of the bees and colonies had been stolen. A colony of bees is currently worth around £150 but these are specialist queen bees which are worth a bit extra.

“Bee thefts are almost always carried out by other beekeepers looking to fill their own hives. It is a specialist job and not something you can sell on round the pub. You would need specialist equipment. An ordinary person would have no idea.”

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police Scotland is appealing for information after bees were stolen from a farm in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, some time between 11am on Saturday, April 19 and 12pm on Sunday, April 20. Anyone with information that may be useful should contact Police Scotland Tayside Division on 101 or alternatively information can be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11.”

[Calum]

what disguise?

[gavin]

A beekeeping suit or jacket. Most of the folk in the pictures I've taken at apiaries are unrecognisable.

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[snimmo243]

I've considered the wildlife camera thing and would probably point it at the car parking area, however I suspect that unless you put up a sign warning that cctv was in operation, any footage may be inadmissible and you could potentially be open to a breach of civil liberties suit.

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[fatshark]

I think the law is reasonably clear on the legality or otherwise of taking photographs in a public place - it's legal. Roads, and presumably parking places, are public places. Most CCTV cameras aren't signed are they? There's a lot about this on various websites for people with an interest in "street photos". The inadmissibility is a completely different issue. There might well be time/date verification issues.

I'm investing in some of these:

1988

[crabbitdave]

I wouldn't be to bothered about them being caught by the police they more interested in motorist, it's just finding out who these scum are to name and shame them a thief is a thief and for them to set out to steal this way makes my blood boil


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[madasafish]

If I found a thief on my property , he would of course be carrying a knife with his fingerprints on it and would have attempted to knife me, thus justifying my rendering him unconscious with a worn down cricket bat in self defense.

If I only identified him on camera and the police refused to prosecute, he would find himself in the local paper or on local billboards..and on Facebook , Twitter and other public media..

If he is a beekeeper , then he would find his name and apiary address together with a copy of google maps posted to all local BBKA members..

I'm neither vindictive nor mean...

[snimmo243]

If I found a thief on my property , he would of course be carrying a knife with his fingerprints on it and would have attempted to knife me, thus justifying my rendering him unconscious with a worn down cricket bat in self defense.

If I only identified him on camera and the police refused to prosecute, he would find himself in the local paper or on local billboards..and on Facebook , Twitter and other public media..

If he is a beekeeper , then he would find his name and apiary address together with a copy of google maps posted to all local BBKA members..

I'm neither vindictive nor mean...

Very reasonable

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[gavin]

Gentlemen. The perpetrator is indeed to be reviled and castigated (and preferably caught and punished) but let's stop short of violent thoughts (except when in jest, as one contributer surely means). I doubt Murray would go that far either. He'll be concerned to ensure that the Law catches up with him (or her) and it never happens again, that is all. All of us in the beekeeping community should help with that if we can.



If he is a beekeeper , then he would find his name and apiary address together with a copy of google maps posted to all local BBKA members..


I see what you did there Madasafish .... how many BBKA members do we have around here?! :p

G.

[snimmo243]

Gentlemen. The perpetrator is indeed to be reviled and castigated (and preferably caught and punished) but let's stop short of violent thoughts (except when in jest, as one contributer surely means). I doubt Murray would go that far either. He'll be concerned to ensure that the Law catches up with him (or her) and it never happens again, that is all. All of us in the beekeeping community should help with that if we can.



I see what you did there Madasafish .... how many BBKA members do we have around here?! :p

G.

Sound advice Gavin, having been involved as a witness in a court case I know that anything written here, on email, text etc is retrievable and can be used as evidence, what we don't want is decent beekeepers falling foul of the law! On the other hand through personal experience I have little faith in the ability and willingness of the polis and the law to protect innocent people!

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[The Drone Ranger]

perhaps the glued on coloured number disks stuck on the queen would be good deterrent
Bit like branding the hives etc which presumably is why the hives themselves were left

[busybeephilip]

It's my feeling that some the persons who are doing this could be beekeepers who are not club members but loners or let alone-ers, no-one will ever see the insides of their hives and their hives will be well hidden. They will be aware that hive parts, eg branded frames or boxes could be identified if examined closely so these items will never be sold or put anywhere visible but destroyed by burning to hide the evidence. The bees will be split for selling or sold as a swarm package or just used for the season. Anything that can ID the bees will be destroyed.

The only way to catch them is to photograph vehicle number plates and locating a camera in the correct place to catch this would be difficult. Hive monitors are one way forward, but if the bees are shaken out then there is only about 5 mins to catch the thief in action, a hive monitor would alert you to a distrubance and by the time you got to the apairy the bees and thief are gone.

In N.I. every main route and some minor roads in and out of every town/village is covered by covert CCTV/numberplate recognition systems, something to do with preventing terrorism :) so the police will know what vehicles are on the road and at what time. Hence our general crime rate is low