Thousands Of Bees Killed By Rapeseed Oil Crop Spraying

Story By: Gheorghi CaraseniSub Editor: Michael LeidigAgency: Newsflash

Picture Credit: Newsflash/Ivan Doroshuk

These images show thousands of bees killed after nearby rapeseed oil fields were reportedly sprayed with chemicals.

The incident took place near the villages of Chkalovo and Zeleny Gay in the district of Vesele in the northern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia Oblast.

According to local media, the unnamed beekeeper found the thousands of dead insects on the morning of 11th May.

Council official Dmitry Maystro admitted that chemicals were used to spray local rapeseed fields at night between the 10th and 11th May.

He wrote on Facebook: “Local beekeepers were not informed about the planned crop spraying in time and therefore they were unable to protect their hives.”

Maystro told Newsflash that he did not have any details on which chemicals were used on the rapeseed fields and is unaware if they were permitted or not.

Picture Credit: Newsflash/Dmitriy Maystro

He added: “According to laws in the region, agricultural workers should carry out crop spraying at night and they should inform beekeepers beforehand.

“Unfortunately, not every company respects the law and the local authorities do not always take charge of the situation or charge anyone who violates the rules.”

It is unclear if the incident is being investigated by the authorities.

However, a similar situation reportedly occurred in the region of Sumy Oblast where a beekeeper reportedly filed a complaint after thousands of bees were killed during crop spraying.

Last year, it is estimated that over 40,000 hives were affected by crop spraying in the Ukraine, causing damages of 120 million UAH (3.6 million GBP), according to reports.

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