The Solton District Court is reviewing a lawsuit filed by nine beekeepers against a peasant…

The Solton District Court is reviewing a lawsuit filed by nine beekeepers against a peasant farm enterprise (PFE) for 24 million rubles. The beekeepers claim that the PFE sprayed chemicals on its fields, causing a mass die-off of bees, according to the joint press service of the Altai Krai courts.

The beekeepers state that in June the defendant treated rapeseed fields with pesticides in the Solton district, after which mass bee deaths began. The farm did not notify about the chemical treatments, resulting in damages of 24 million rubles. The case began on October 23; witnesses and experts were questioned during the trial, describing inspections of the beekeepers' apiaries, the defendant's fields, and sampling of dead bees. The trial is ongoing.