The fatal brown bear attack against a 19-year-old female tourist hiker sent shocks across the Romanian societies, prompting the head of government to recall lawmakers from their recess in order to vote legislation tackling the ‘overpopulation’ of bears in the country.
And the Parliamentarians apparently came back with a vengeance, approving measures that many may feel are extreme.
CBS reported:
“Romania’s parliament on Monday approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in a bid to control the protected species’ ‘overpopulation’ after a deadly attack on a 19-year-old hiker sparked nationwide outcry.”
The bear reportedly attacked the young woman on the trail, dragged her into the vegetation and dropped her into a chasm, coming down after her.
After reportedly trying to attack the rescuers, the bear was shot and killed.
Romania has Europe’s largest brown bear population – outside of Russia. It stands at around 8,000.
Romania has seen 26 people killed and 274 severely injured over the last 20 years.
“After the young hiker was mauled to death on a popular trail in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu summoned lawmakers back from their summer recess to attend an emergency session of parliament.
As well as adopting legislation to control the brown bear population, the parliament held a moment of silence in the 19-year-old hiker’s memory.”
Worried about a ‘overpopulation’ of bears, the lawmakers have authorized the culling of 481 bears in 2024 – that’s more than more than twice last year’s total of 220.
Needless to say, environmental groups have denounced the measure. They advocate for ‘better waste management’ or ‘preventing people from feeding animals’.
In 2023, about 7,500 emergency calls to signal bear sightings were recorded, more than double the previous year, according to data presented last week by Romanian authorities.”
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