I have a cousin who’s vegan and I was legit curious about this, and she literally said exactly that - “the bees can leave if they want”, but from what I understand there are other vegans who disagree

I won’t speak for other vegans, but my research into beekeeping and honey production turned me against the industry for the following reasons:

• Beekeepers will commonly clip the wings of queens to keep them from swarming or leaving.
• Semen is commonly extracted from bees by crushing them.
• Honey taken from hives is commonly replaced with a nutrient-devoid sugar solution, affecting the health of the bees.
• Selective breeding of honeybees has made them more susceptible to diseases which can also affect native insects.
• Honeybees have been shown to cause serious disruptions to plant-pollinator networks, putting local pollinators at great risk.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-honey-bees/

Thats a seperate matter from animal abuse though, also I live in a region with lots of orchards (or atleast used to have) so bee keeping is just kinda a factor.