Man told bees at home not so sweet
The beehive found on Guo's balcony
The man surnamed Gou (right) is advised by a police officer to remove his beehive.
A man who keeps a beehive at his home in a highrise in Songjiang District has been asked to remove it, police said on Thursday.
Concerned for the safety of other residents, the residents' committee at the complex on Xinsongjiang Road asked Guo to remove it from his balcony on August 23.
When he failed to do so police were called and September 4 was agreed as a deadline for removal. Otherwise, police said, Gou would be evicted and the beehive confiscated.
Gou, who had brought the beehive from his hometown in Sichuan Province, has promised to take it to the countryside, according to police.
He told them he kept the bees as pets.
Gou rents an apartment on the third floor of the complex which has over 1,600 households, police said.
They asked him to move the beehive to prevent the bees disturbing or injuring other residents.
Although there are no laws preventing residents from keeping bees at home it is not advisable in populated urban areas.
Urban management officials told Shanghai Daily that if residents are found to be keeping bees and public greenery is damaged or if there are illegal structures in residential complexes, it will advise their removal. If that advice is ignored then police could deal with the matter on public order and safety grounds.
Agriculture experts say residents shouldn’t keep bees on balconies because, although bees don’t usually attack people at random, they are attracted to light and thus could trouble other households. They also said clothing could be badly damaged by bee excrement.
