Bears can be shot on sight

Under a draft emergency ordinance put out to public debate by the Environment Ministry, bears will be allowed to be shot directly. The law complements legislation to prevent and combat attacks on people and households, amid an increase in damage caused by these animals. Iulia Gherman has details.

Reporter: According to the law, the competent authorities are no longer obliged to intervene gradually when bears are present in localities, but can act immediately to eliminate the danger, including by shooting them.

Currently, the law provides for a series of measures to be applied successively, depending on the level of risk posed by the animal.

This means that first the bears must be driven out, then tranquilized and relocated, and finally they can be euthanized or shot.

The explanatory memorandum to the emergency ordinance emphasizes that these regulations have not been effective and that there has been a steady increase in the number of attacks on people, the presence of bears in public and private spaces and material damage to people's homes.

The ineffectiveness of electric fences and bear-proof dumpsters has also been noted.

The preliminary actions now imposed by the legislation, which did not allow the immediate removal of the danger posed by the presence of bears, have sometimes resulted in mutilation and even loss of human life, the act says.

Translated by: Radu Matei