Brood thief convicted in Hawke's Bay

[deejaycee 2,457]

I truly hope they throw the book at this guy. 

 

He actually called me for advice before he started beekeeping,  dropped a yard just 80 metres across the road from one of mine a year later, never attended a single field day/education/community opportunity that I can identify. 

 

And he replaced the frames he stole from hives with frames that were often USED.    I also believe he may have been responsible for doing the same to other beekeepers locally... that, or we have two thieves with the same MO in the same area in the same timeframe. 

 

"

A New Zealand honey giant fears a man who raided their hives may have also infected them.

Basil Martin Lawry, 64, stole brood (eggs, larvae and pupae), honey and bees worth more than $2000 from Arataki Honey and Kintail Honey from 2016 through to 2018.

He appeared before Judge Bridget Mackintosh in the Hastings District Court on Tuesday and admitted eight charges of theft.

Arataki Honey's John Walsh said he was relieved Lawry had been brought to account for the theft but was concerned that Arataki hives may have been infected with American foulbrood (AFB) - a highly infectious bee disease - through Lawry."  Read the article for more info.

 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=12217004&fbclid=IwAR000M9Jnf7_85DZ07LxrQ2bRctUhYGEEz_oAx7vo12nROK0NdLxnllVZU4

[Tanijak 0]

This has always worry's me. Because of how easy it is for someone to do. 

[nikki watts 905]

That’s terrible. I wonder how often thefts like this happen. 

He should be banned from having bee hives for life. 

[john berry 5,636]

The local beekeeping community has been trying to catch this guy for several years and I know of at least one other beekeeper where the same M.O. was used. $2000 is a bit of a joke, I don't know the total of hives that he hit but it was a lot more than $2000 worth. He always put frames back in I suppose on the erroneous assumption that no one would notice that suddenly there were totally different and empty frames in the hives . This was ongoing, premeditated theft for monetary gain but don't hold your breath for anything more than a slap with a wet bus ticket. There are also a lot of people out there that have paid good money for stolen property  which raises some interesting ethical questions.

[kaihoka 2,976]

6 hours ago, john berry said:

The local beekeeping community has been trying to catch this guy for several years and I know of at least one other beekeeper where the same M.O. was used. $2000 is a bit of a joke, I don't know the total of hives that he hit but it was a lot more than $2000 worth. He always put frames back in I suppose on the erroneous assumption that no one would notice that suddenly there were totally different and empty frames in the hives . This was ongoing, premeditated theft for monetary gain but don't hold your breath for anything more than a slap with a wet bus ticket. There are also a lot of people out there that have paid good money for stolen property  which raises some interesting ethical questions.

Do you think anyone will bother stealing hives and frames any more .

[john berry 5,636]

People have been stealing hives for a long long time, well before they were worth anything. Hopefully there will be less  stealing but it won't go away.

[Bellow 3]

Sentenced today... 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12240378

 

I think 200 hours community service is pretty light! 

[Maru Hoani 650]

On 30/03/2019 at 11:32 AM, nikki watts said:

That’s terrible. I wonder how often thefts like this happen. 

He should be banned from having bee hives for life. 

I had it happen to me once, I found undrawn plastic frames, not even waxed in a few hives

[john berry 5,636]

I do well over 200 hours community service every year and I am not even a criminal.

In cases like this jail might not be appropriate but judges should have the ability to do some creative sentencing and banning the person from keeping beehives would be a good start as would confiscating the vehicle used for committing the crime.

[Sailabee 1,102]

We need to convert judges into hobby beekeepers, then the sentences would change!