Status: 04/21/2023 09:23 a.m
In Romania, most bears live within the EU. In order to prevent “overpopulation”, the Romanian government now wants to significantly increase the number of animals allowed to be shot – to the annoyance of animal rights activists.
The Romanian government has proposed killing three times as many bears annually as last year. The reason given is that the aim is to avoid “overpopulation” of the protected animal species. According to the Sofia proposal, up to 426 bears could be shot each year; last year it was 140.
From 2016 to 2021, 14 people died
The Ministry of the Environment estimates the number of bears living in Romania at 7,500 to 8,000. Trophy hunting for the animals has been banned since 2016, but the killing of so-called “sturgeon bears” is permitted with special permits. From 2016 to 2021, 154 bear attacks in the country killed 14 people and injured another 158. Environment Minister Barna Tanczos said earlier this month that “too many people have died from bear attacks”. It is “our duty to protect human life”.
“Free pass for trophy hunters”
Criticism of the government’s proposal to increase the shooting quota comes from animal rights activists. Accordingly, in addition to “technical specialists”, hunters will soon be able to shoot the animals. This is a free ticket for the forbidden trophy hunt. The Romanian section of environmental group Greenpeace said the move was a “cynical proposal to replace bear management with commercial hunting.”
Environmental activists also criticize the fact that people are increasingly taking over the bears’ habitat, for example by clearing large areas of forest in the Carpathian Mountains. Wealthy Romanians build weekend homes in the higher mountains where the bears have their territories. Another problem is tourists who lure the animals with food.
Common in Romania, the brown bear is one of the 1200 protected animal species in the European Union. The EU-wide debate over animal welfare was fueled by the case of a jogger killed by a bear in Italy. Several sheep were killed by a bear in Bavaria.