JAKARTA - Romanian authorities are launching an investigation into the death of Arthur, the country's largest brown bear, who was shot dead by a European prince in March.
Romania is home to the largest brown bear population in Europe, numbering up to 6.000, although some scientists dispute this.
Starting in 2016, Romania officially banned hunting for the trophy of brown bears. Permits are only granted to hunt 'problem' bears for legal hunters.
The shooting of Arthur, the largest protected brown bear in Romania, also drew criticism from the local environmental organization, Agent Green.
"Agent Green and VGT (Austria) condemn the killing of a brown bear named Arthur by trophy hunter Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein, who came to Romania in March to shoot him", Agent Green said in a statement.
According to Agent Green, Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein, a resident of Riegersburg, a town in the Austrian region of Styria, allegedly used a permit from the Romanian Ministry of the Environment as a pretext to shoot a bear in Romania.
However, the permit was issued for the extermination of the mother bear that had caused damage last year on several farms in Ojdula, Covasna area, and not the giant bear killed by the prince.
"But in reality, the prince did not kill the bear in question, but rather a male who lived deep in the forest and never got close to the local area. A bear named Arthur has been observed for years by Agent Green's keepers in the area and is known to be a wild specimen. They are not used to humans and the food sources they offer. Its habitat is the Natura 2000 Oituz-Ojdula ROSCI0130 protected area", said Agent Green.
Cited from Euronews, official hunting documents seen by The Associated Press confirm Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein was granted a four-day hunting permit in March in Covasna County, Romania, and on March 13 he harvested a 17-year-old brown bear, for which he allegedly paid € 7.000.
The brown bear is a species protected by both international and Romanian law. This means regular bear hunting for sports or trophies is not allowed in Romania. However, bears can be killed here in certain cases, but only if the Minister of Environment issues a ministerial order (reduction permit). For example, if a bear causes serious damage or threatens the population, the minister can issue a permit to kill.
"A reduction permit is an exception granted in an extreme case, on a case-by-case basis, after a thorough assessment of the situation, and lethal methods are the last resort when alternatives (including relocation) fail, and the problems they bear endanger human lives and households", explained Agent Green
"The European Commission has approved a budget for member states to immediately compensate any farmers who suffer damage on their own land or in areas where they have contracts to practice farming", continued Agent Green.
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Separately, Romanian Environment Minister Tanczos Barna told local news channel Digi24 that an investigation was started to find out what actually happened in this.
"It is very complicated to determine whether the bear killed by the prince was the target of the reduction", he said.
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