Romania Allows Additional Bear Hunting Quota To Control Population And Prevent Deadly Attacks

Bear brown. (Wikimedia Commons/Per Harald Olsen)

JAKARTA - Romanian lawmakers allowed the addition of a bear hunting quota to double on Monday, to control the population and avoid further attacks on people.

The emergency parliamentary hearing follows the death of a 19-year-old climber who was attacked by a bear on the popular path of the Carpathian Mountains, central Romania.

The EU country has an annual quota to proactively control the number of bear populations, as well as to get rid of animals that are used to entering the city for food.

In 2023, the quota amounts to 220 annual bear killings. On Monday, lawmakers increased the number to 481 per year.

Wildlife experts say the animals, dubbed "cash cans", will continue to search in cities because the expansion of the city eats away at their habitat, climate change limits their food sources and because people feed them.

"Unfortunately, no one knows the exact bear population in Romania or how many specimens the habitat can accommodate," said the Carpathia Conservation Foundation, a private conservation group.

"The number of bear problems and the damage it causes fluctuates every year and is not directly proportional to the increase in bear density," he continued.

He added that solutions must include prevention, including electric fences, better waste management, and education for tourists and residents.

Romania is known to have the largest brown bear population in Europe outside Russia. The environmental ministry estimates their number to reach 8,000. However, the results of a DNA-based study funded by the European Union have not yet been presented.

With hundreds of bear sightings each year, authorities are fighting hard to keep residents and tourists in mountainous cities safe from wild animals. Local media regularly reports bear attacks on humans and livestock.

Romanian Environment Minister said in March 26 people had been killed by bears in the last 20 years. Bears approaching cars on mountain roads looking for food or fishing for garbage are common events.