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WATCH ABOVE: Kevin Nixon of Nixon Honey Farm can’t understand why anyone would steal 600,000 of his honey bees and 12 hives. Carlos Prieto reports.

INNISFAIL, Alta. – A central Alberta farmer is feeling the sting from the theft of 600,000 honey bees and 12 hives.

Kevin Nixon of Nixon Honey Farm near Innisfail says he can’t understand why anyone would stoop to stealing somebody’s livelihood.

Staff checking the hives on Wednesday discovered that the bees were missing.

Nixon, who is the chairman of the Canadian Honey Council, says he’s looking at about a $6,000 loss.

He’s now considering a GPS tracking system to protect his hives.

The theft is the first since he first started keeping bees in 1998.

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“We’ve had the odd case of vandalism, but we’ve never had hive theft,” said Nixon.

“Over the past few years, the value of hives has gone up. For us to purchase bees, it’s expensive. People don’t realize.” Tweet This

The hives would have been stolen at night when bees weren’t flying around, he said. But the bees would have been agitated when moved, so whoever took them would have required at least a veil and gloves for protection.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Chris Matechuk said it’s an unusual case that’s being investigated as any other theft.

“It’s the first beehive theft that I’ve been aware of,” said Matechuk. “The owner and investigators believe that the person responsible for stealing the beehives would have knowledge with bees and bee production.”

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Nixon said the really sad part is that the thief could be another beekeeper. It’s a small industry with about 120 commercial beekeepers in Alberta.

“It’s just needless and disappointing. You lose trust in your community.”

READ MORE: Honey, hives and highrises – Why urban beekeeping is trending in Canada

Red Deer Advocate with files from Global News