Two 13-year-old teenagers are accused of destroying beehives in the royal garden of Wilanow Palace in Warsaw, Poland. According to the local police, the youngsters admitted to breaking the hives in an attempt to taste the honey directly from the source.
The incident was reported by the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanow, revealing that an individual or group used fire extinguishers to shatter the hives, extracting frames filled with bees and scattering them around the area. The destruction was exacerbated by low temperatures and a heavy downpour that swept through Warsaw overnight, which effectively wiped out several bee colonies.
Museum staff disclosed that the apiary housed approximately 20 bee colonies, out of which three have been completely lost, and the condition of the remaining is yet to be assessed. A total of five hives were damaged during the incident.
The case has been treated as a priority by the Mokotow District police officers, who focus on juvenile delinquency and pathology. The culprits, identified as a young girl from Ukraine and a boy from Belarus, have been charged with criminal property destruction and violation of animal protection laws that prohibit the killing of animals.
Sub-inspector Ewa Kołdys from the Wilanow police station emphasized that the teenagers acted together and justified their behavior by their desire to taste the honey. The appropriate family court, based on their residence, will decide on protective and educational measures for the minors.