Romania seeks to cull almost 500 bears after the death of a hiker. July 15, 2024
- Ana Cunha-Busch
- Jul 14, 2024
- 2 min read
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Romania seeks to cull almost 500 bears after the death of a hiker.
Romania's parliament on Monday approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in a bid to control the "overpopulation" of the protected species after a deadly attack by a hiker sparked nationwide protests.
Romania is home to the largest population of brown bears in Europe outside Russia, with 8,000, according to the Environment Ministry.
Bears have killed 26 people and seriously injured 274 others in the last 20 years in the south-eastern European country, the ministry said earlier this year.
After a young hiker was attacked to death on a popular trail in Romania's Carpathian Mountains, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu summoned lawmakers back from summer recess to attend an emergency session of parliament.
As well as adopting legislation to control the brown bear population, parliament held a minute's silence in memory of the 19-year-old hiker.
The law adopted on Monday authorizes the killing of 481 bears by 2024, more than double last year's total of 220.
Lawmakers argued that the "overpopulation" of bears has led to an increase in attacks, although they admit that the law will not prevent attacks in the future.
But environmental groups denounced the measure.
"The law solves nothing," World Wildlife Fund biologist Calin Ardelean told AFP, arguing that the focus should be shifted to "prevention and intervention" as well as the so-called "problem bears".
According to WWF Romania, culling will not solve the problem unless measures are adopted to keep bears away from communities, such as better waste management or preventing people from feeding the animals.
In 2023, around 7,500 emergency calls were registered to report bear sightings, more than double the previous year, according to data presented last week by the Romanian authorities.
ani/kym/sbk/dl
Comments