Amid growing outcry following the attack and death of a 19-year-old hiker, the new law authorizes the killing of 481 bears in 2024, more than double last year’s total of 220.
The Romanian government has approved the culling of about 500 bears this year and more than doubled the number of bears that park rangers can legally kill, after bear attacks on hikers sparked nationwide outrage.
The law, adopted at an emergency parliamentary session on Monday, allows for the culling of 481 bears to curb “overpopulation” of the protected species – more than double the 220 culled last year.
In addition to adopting the new bill, parliament held a moment of silence in memory of a 19-year-old hiker who was attacked and killed on a popular hiking trail in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains last week.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolac has recalled lawmakers from their summer break to attend an emergency session of Parliament.
Over the past two decades, bears have killed 26 people in Romania and seriously injured 274, according to the Romanian Environment Ministry, which estimates there are up to 8,000 bears in the country, which has Europe’s largest brown bear population outside Russia.
Environmental groups have condemned the new measures.
Wildlife experts say the problem animals, known in Romania as “garbage can bears”, will continue to forage in urban areas as urban expansion encroaches on their natural habitat and climate change limits food sources.
“This law doesn’t solve anything at all,” Karin Arderian, a biologist with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), told AFP, arguing the focus should shift to “prevention and intervention.”
WWF says increased culling will not solve Romania’s problem unless measures are taken to keep bears away from communities, waste management is improved and people are stopped from feeding the animals.
“The number of problematic bears and the damage they cause fluctuates from year to year and is not directly proportional to an increase in bear density,” said the Foundation Conservation Carpathia, a private conservation group.
“Unfortunately, no one knows the exact number of bears in Romania, nor how many of them the habitat can accommodate,” the group added.
Hundreds of bear sightings are reported in Romania every year, and authorities struggle to protect residents and tourists in mountain towns from the animals.
It is common for bears to approach cars and rummage through trash on mountain trails in search of food, and local media regularly report incidents of bears attacking people and livestock.
