Just wow. 50 hives are worth $60K? I don’t think so, unless there is some other, much more expensive equipment involved.
Bears destroy far more hives than vandals do. That said there are some punks that get a thrill out of kicking over a hive and running. A bad thing at any time but due to the cold its a death sentence for the hive.
I don’t get the comments on this thread suggesting torture or worse for the JUVENILE offenders. I like bees. A lot. Bees are not people, nor are they cuddly household pets. And I’d like to think we’re a little better than daesh in how we want to deal with criminals.
It isn’t about the bees. It is about the business and life they took away from the owners of the bees.
It is also about the crimes they will commit in the future. Unchecked, they will move on to worse crimes because they only consider their own sick and perverted whims and do not care about others.
It isn’t mercy to leave them in that state. If you are concerned at all for their future, they need a painful intervention to change the course of their lives.