Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/691413
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JUNE 2016 17 TIM DIACONO THE apiculturist whose bee colonies were burnt down on Friday suspects a local beekeeper to have been be- hind the arson attack. Ermanno de Chino told MaltaToday that only an ex- perienced beekeeper would have been able to navigate around the grouped apiaries without getting stung. "I suspect that an envious beekeeper was behind the attack. The police found pieces of newspaper at the apiaries that could have been used to start the blaze, and hopefully they can be scanned for the culprit's fin- gerprints." 215 nucleus colonies and two brood banks were burned down at de Chino's fields between Ghasri and Gharb on Friday; around 250,000 bees were killed, with damages amounting to around €12,000. Parliamentary secretary for agriculture Roderick Galdes described the incident as "an attack against a private company which invested in our country, as well as a vandal attack against the environment". De Chino, the Italian owner of bee breeding compa- ny Melita Bees, has faced his fair share of setbacks and controversies since he resettled from Sicily to Gozo early last year. He instantly had to fend off concerns by local bee- keepers that his bees were imported from Sicily – where the deadly small hive beetle pest had ravaged beehives. He also dismissed concerns that the un- precedented scale of the importation of foreign bees – around a quarter of the entire bee population in Malta – threatened the unique genetic identity of the Maltese honey bee Apis mellifera ruttneri. Backed by Roderick Galdes, he had argued that the bee's DNA had survived previous large-scale importa- tions from Italy, New Zealand and the United States. Galdes had suggested that beekeepers feared the com- petition from the Italian apiculturist, but this was dis- missed by beekeepers who retorted that their business is honey while de Chino's is bee breeding. Earlier this year, de Chino's apiaries were targeted by thieves, who had made off with around 48 colonies in a spate of robberies. The apiculturist had back then suggested that the robber was familiar with the loca- tion and had extensive knowledge about the handling of apiaries. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt News Italian beekeeper suspects 'envious' rivals behind Gozo arson attack Legal action against owner who left bulldog to die outside residence A bulldog that was left outside a private residence, tied to a door, passed away in the ambulance en route to the veterinary. The bulldog was found lying on the ground, barely able to breathe in Hamrun. The dog died just a few minutes after ani- mal welfare officers, acting on a report, arrived on the scene with an ambulance. The secretariat confirmed that the Animal Welfare Department will be taking legal steps against the dog's owner in the coming days. The department will wait for the completion of the autop- sy report. Lija council opposes 'monstrosity' of proposed apartment block TIM DIACONO THE Lija local council is objecting to the proposed construction of a five-storey block of apartments close to the Belvedere Tower. The planning application in Triq Daniel Sammut, by developer Jo- seph Portelli, has been recom- mended for approval by the Plan- ning Authority's case officer. The Planning Authority board will con- vene next week to make a decision on whether the proposal should go ahead. Lija mayor Magda Magri Nau- di warned that the development would destroy the character of the area, currently dominated by villas and bungalows. "The buildings will be five storeys high, which will mean that their residents will be able to peep onto their neighbours' swimming pools and gardens. This is simply not on," she told MaltaToday. "95% of resi- dents in the area have opposed the development." She said that the proposed block of apartments could house over 1,000 people, which would be akin to cramming half the population of Lija into 1% of the village's area. Moreover, she expects the de- velopment will add to the traffic and parking woes of Lija residents, particularly since the development brief only includes 30 garages. In a letter to the Planning Author- ity, the local council unanimously objected to the development and questioned why it hadn't been con- sulted on the tweaking of the local plan that permitted such develop- ment. "Such development is not congru- ous to the very fabric that makes up this part of Lija, and will lead to a very densely populated area, only found in Malta in cities like Val- letta and Sliema," the council wrote. "Lija is a village and this certainly needs to be borne in mind when such planning decisions are taken. "The residents surrounding this development and beyond have vo- ciferously protested to us against this enormous development, whose proposed height is much too much for our village fabric." The council added that the pro- posed development would block the sun from the villas south of it. Airline captain Robin Zammit, a resident of Lija, told the PA that the development would both devalue his property and infringe on his pri- vacy. "My rights of enjoyment and pri- vacy within the sanctity of my home, pool and garden area will be totally lost, as I will have 27 flats looking directly onto me, in an area that was not designated for such devel- opment when I acquired it in 2004," he wrote. "To compound the trav- esty, whilst my block is constrained to two floors and 60% open space, unusable curtilages and all sorts of other restrictions to preserve the ambience, the opposite block seems to have been allowed development of practically the full plot, as well as a vertical extent allowing five floors (4+1). This is completely unfair and a double whammy for the residents of my side of the street." The structures where the bees were kept were burnt to the ground