The owners of Wild Hill Honey in Sioux Falls, Iowa, are uncertain of the future of their honey business after vandals destroyed 50 of their beehives. Owner Justin Engelhardt discovered the damage when he went to clear off snow from the hives on Thursday morning.
Engelhardt doesn’t think he’ll be able to recover from such a loss, saying that the damages are about $60,000 worth.
“I knew it was going to be bad we went around the shed every hive was knocked over, dead bees in the snow, it was terrible,” Englehardt said.
At least 500,000 bees were killed as a result of the actions of the vandals. There was a security camera installed in the area, but it was stolen during the incident.
Luckily for the owners of Wild Hill Honey received immediate support from their community in a crowdfunding campaign that raised $30,000 in less than 24 hours. That amount will be enough to get them through at least until spring.
Fingerprints were found at the scene. Hopefully, authorities will be able to find the perpetrators and hold them responsible for their actions in their ongoing investigation.
We’ll never understand why some people feel the need to destroy the personal property of others and ruin their livelihood in the process. Let’s hope that these business owners are able to recover from this tragedy thanks to the help of their community.
