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Wildlife

Romania wants to kill up to 426 bears annually

Romania wants to kill up to 426 bears annually, three times more than the previous year. According to the Ministry of Environment, around 7,500 bears live in the country.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 21 April 2023

Killing three times as many bears

The Romanian government has proposed killing up to 426 bears annually, compared to 140 in the previous year. Currently, an estimated 7’500 to 8’000 bears live in Romania. In addition to trained technical personnel, hobby hunters are also to be permitted to shoot the wildlife.

A licence for trophy hunting?

Environmental groups criticised the proposal as a free pass for the otherwise prohibited trophy hunting. “The current proposal is a cynical suggestion to replace bear management with commercial hobby hunting”, Greenpeace Romania stated. Romania has the largest bear population in the EU. Hobby hunting fails as a population control measure. More on the topic of species protection and hunting legislation.

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More on the topic of hobby hunting: In our dossier on hunting we compile fact checks, analyses and background reports.

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