Drone spraying causes mass bee deaths in Turkish district, beekeeper complains
Following mass bee deaths in the Bayramiç district of the western Çanakkale province in Turkey, beekeeper İskender Yıldırım said they suspect that the drone spraying was the reason for the deaths.
Seçkin Sağlam / DUVAR
The Bayramiç district of the western Çanakkale province in Turkey has seen mass bee deaths. Around 1600 hives of bees belonging to 12 people died during the weekend.
A beekeeper from Bayramiç, İskender Yıldırım, told Duvar that they suspect the drone spraying was the reason for mass deaths.
“Crop spraying was carried out by drone in this region, and we think the deaths were caused by this. Because the spraying flies around in windy weather,” Yıldırım said.
“Therefore, we cannot find any other reason for the mass death of our bees. It is already a forbidden drug, we think that our bees died with this spraying,” he added.
Yıldırım said they filed complaints to the Bayramiç Agriculture Directorate, the gendarmerie, and the prosecutor's office, adding that the gendarmerie carries out an investigation regarding the incident.
“(The bees in) about 30-35 of my 80 hives were gone. We filed the complaints, an investigation is underway. We are waiting for the result,” he concluded.
(English version by Alperen Şen)