Romania to cull 500 bears to curb overpopulation after deadly attack
Al Jazeera
New law authorises the killing of 481 bears in 2024, more than twice last year’s total of 220, amid outcry after deadly attack on 19-year-old hiker.
Romania’s government has more than doubled the number of bears that park rangers can legally kill, approving the culling of almost 500 bears this year following a deadly attack on a hiker that caused a nationwide outcry.
The law adopted on Monday in an emergency meeting of parliament authorises the culling of 481 bears in a bid to control “overpopulation” in the protected species, a figure that is more than twice last year’s total of 220 bears culled.
As well as adopting the new legislation, the parliament held a moment of silence in memory of the 19-year-old hiker who was mauled to death last week on a popular trail in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains.
Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had summoned lawmakers back from their summer recess to attend the emergency session of parliament.
Bears have killed 26 people and severely injured 274 others over the last 20 years in Romania, according to the country’s environment ministry. The ministry estimates there are up to 8,000 bears in the country, which has Europe’s largest population of brown bears outside Russia.
