Rebecca Manzi With a law, Romania has authorized the killing of almost 500 brown bears following the death of a tourist killed by a bear
©jmrocek/123rf
Romania has passed a law permitting the culling of nearly 500 brown bears in 2024, a significant increase from the 220 bears authorized for culling last year. This decision follows the tragic death of a 19-year-old tourist, who was killed by a bear while hiking in the Transylvanian Alps.
The incident sparked a swift and intense reaction across the country, prompting the Romanian Parliament to hold an extraordinary session to address the issue. President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu expressed concerns over what they described as an “overpopulation” of bears and a rise in attacks, citing these factors as justifications for the new law.
The measure comes in response to the increasing number of human-bear encounters, with 26 people killed and 274 seriously injured over the past two decades. Romania is home to approximately 8,000 brown bears, the second-largest population in Europe after Russia.
Law fails to address the root causes of attacks
Despite the law being introduced to reduce the risk of bear attacks, many environmental organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), have strongly criticized the decision. According to the WWF, the law does not adequately address the underlying causes of the attacks, such as poor waste management and the illegal feeding of bears by tourists, which lure the animals into populated areas.
Environmentalists argue that the issue lies more in the coexistence between bears and humans than in the number of bears themselves. They advocate for more effective measures to prevent attacks, such as improved waste management and educational programs to minimize dangerous interactions between humans and bears.
Rather than destroying one of Romania’s iconic symbols, there should be a focus on prevention and education for mutual coexistence. The WWF asserts that a tragedy is being used to justify an “emergency” decision that effectively allows trophy hunting in the forests, as this practice is prohibited under European Union legislation.
Source: WWF Romania
