The authorities targeted the brown bear again

The authorities targeted the bears again. A tragic event, resulting in the death of a young woman, put a problem that was always postponed, but never solved, back on the screen. The Minister of Environment, Mircea Fechet, declared after the tragedy in which a young woman was killed by a bear during a hike, that the brown bear population in Romania is out of control, and their relocation is not a solution. The minister specified that in his opinion, bears that approach human communities must be managed by euthanasia or shooting and announced that he will propose by an order to increase the harvesting quotas, to a number of 500 specimens, the current number, of 220 copies, being insufficient. According to the minister: "After we have all the information put together, we will have to draw conclusions very quickly and come up with solutions that respect what I said on the first day since I came to the ministry, namely that life man should always have priority and nothing can be more important. Understanding that, whatever measures we take, no one can guarantee that such tragedies cannot happen in the future". Mircea Fechet specified that in his opinion, beyond other complementary measures, we should manage those specimens that reach inhabited communities and that put human life at risk, whether we are discussing a large municipality in Romania, such as Ploiesti or a village of mountain from Alba county: "I believe that when the bear approaches the community and risks entering and endangering human life, urgent intervention must be done. Relocating bears is not a solution. I spoke with the administrators of the hunting fund within the radius of which yesterday's tragedy occurred, who told me that in the last year they relocated approximately 100 bear specimens to other hunting grounds. In other words, we moved the problem from one locality to another and did not solve it". Fechet mentioned that there will be many debates in society on this topic, but he has the obligation to take these steps and come up with this proposal that bears that approach human communities, at a distance that will be established by specialists, be managed by euthanasia or shooting, because there are no other solutions: "There are several studies, the last one highlights a population of approximately 8,000 brown bears in Romania. We have yet another study underway. Beyond what this study will tell us, one thing is certain, the brown bear population in Romania is out of control. Obviously the conflicts are becoming more and more frequent, the damage more and more frequent. (...) The order I will propose, in continuation of the old order, where we could not have more than 220 copies, I will propose a higher figure. We have enough information to determine that the old order was insufficient. I am convinced that the advisory institutions will conclude (..) that we can have a larger number. I think we need to get closer to the figure proposed by the former minister, of approximately 500 copies".

The authorities in Prahova County have carried out analyzes to detect the rabies virus, as well as a necropsy of the bear that attacked a tourist on the Jepii Mici trail in the Bucegi Massif. Meanwhile, an investigation was opened that will establish the legality of the intervention of extracting the animal by shooting. The Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate (DSVSA) Prahova will carry out analyzes to determine whether the bear that killed a tourist in the Bucegi Massif was rabid. "We are waiting for him to bring the animal. We will also perform an anatomical-pathological examination in order to detect the rabies virus", said the director of DSVSA Prahova, George Stratulat. According to him, the biological samples to detect the rabies virus will be analyzed first in Ploiesti, and samples will be sent to Bucharest to confirm or deny the result. Both the mountain gendarmes and the mountain rescuers who intervened in the area where the 19-year-old girl was attacked and torn apart, stated that the bear, which did not leave the area, repeatedly tried to attack the rescuers who were acting to recover the lifeless body of the victim.