The Minister of Environment, Tanczos Barna, wants to change the legislation, so that the bears in Romania that represent a danger to humans can be shot in no more than 24 hours.
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The Minister of Environment proposes a rapid intervention procedure in the case of bears entering the localities. Thus, within 24 hours, a gendarme and a hunter should find him and shoot him on the spot if he is aggressive or attacks animals and people.
The minister claims that in the last 5 years the bear population has grown uncontrollably, and their move is no longer a solution. “That procedure would mean hunting for trophies in disguise,” animal advocates contradict.
The Minister of Environment wants to introduce by law the rapid intervention procedure in the case of bears arriving in localities. Within 24 hours of the call to 112, a team of hunters and gendarmes would identify the bear and decide on the spot the type of intervention. If they decide the bear is dangerous, they can shoot it on the spot, without further approval.
”Barna Tanczos, Minister of the Environment: Tranquilization or extraction.
Reporter: What does extraction mean?
Barna Tanczos: Shooting.
Reporter: Why shoot the bear?
Barna Tanczos: I don’t think you would want to live with the bear on that street, in the apartment, in the same boarding house, in the same house.
Reporter: If the bear is tranquilized and moved elsewhere, isn’t it a more effective solution?
Barna Tanczos: Where do you want it to be moved?
Reporter: In the forest.
Barna Tanczos: In the woods, where I come out with hundreds“.
At this time, bear hunting is prohibited. They can only be shot on the basis of a waiver. The Minister of Environment complains about the bureaucracy and says that 2-3 months can pass before he signs all the institutions. Time when the bear’s trail is lost and the hunters do not know which animal is to be moved or shot.
The number of calls to 112 has increased 10 times
Tanczos Barna claims that since 2016, when the derogations were introduced in the law, the number of bears has increased uncontrollably.
There was no official census, but the number of calls to 112 increased tenfold.
The solutions required by civil society, food for bears in the forest, buried dumpsters and electric fences would not be enough, the Minister of Environment believes.
Tanczos Barna, Minister of the Environment: ”They are fed by hunting associations in the forest. Animals are looking for territory regardless of food and electric fences. Not every house can be guarded“.
The Minister of Environment claims that he is not a hunter, but bears are causing problems for citizens in 13 counties. On the Mureș Valley, for example, a bear cub killed a goat and guarded its prey for two days near the house.
loss: “He went under the fence, it was not affected by the fence, the firecrackers or the noise“.
The NGO Agent Green does not like the rapid intervention procedure and claims that the European Union will sanction us.
Gabriel Păun, president of the Agent Green Association: “Any intervention or exemption quotas is nothing more than a disguised method of trophy hunting.“.
In the last 5 years, there have been 53 foreign hunters in Brașov and 30 in Sibiu, according to environmental volunteers. They also say that the bears come to the localities because of the people who destroyed their habitat, after cutting down their forests. And the Ministry of Environment, instead of allocating funds to solve the problems, chooses hunting.
A census of bears has been promised for 5 years. The Minister of Environment announces that the auction for the census will end in autumn.
The Minister of Environment says that we risk having bears in the Danube Delta as well
Barna stated in the show “Vitalie’s interviews”, Broadcast exclusively on www.stirileprotv.ro, that, at present, the so-called derogation, which is granted for the disposal of a bear, “when someone’s life is in danger“, Is very difficult to release, even in 2-3 months.
“When someone’s life is in danger, the intervention must be like firefighters, like ISU, like when the flood comes.“- said the Minister of Environment.
In these conditions, Barna wants the intervention to be done “in 24 hours, maximum”.
“Legislation will be changed. And we will propose that these derogations go primarily to intervention, where prompt, prompt intervention is needed to save lives and protect human property. Here, the intervention must take place within 24 hours, maximum. I did an analysis and yesterday I had a very long discussion with my colleagues. A derogation from the current legislation must cover at least 6.7 steps. And the derogation, until issuance, from the call to 112, can last in the best case 2 weeks, in the standard cases 2.3 months.“- said the minister.
Pro TV
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Barna claims that killing bears by shooting is also allowed through a European Directive, and 5 EU Member States are already applying this extreme measure.
Minister Tanczos Barna: ”Human intervention is needed”.
Vitalie Cojocari: And when you say human intervention is necessary, consider shooting bears.
Minister Tanczos Barna: ”Including the shooting of bears as a method of prevention, provided by law and permitted by the European Directive. The European directive says that the Member State can intervene in the protection of human life and property, including by shooting. And this is happening in at least 5 Member States, where the bear population is managed. It is happening in Sweden, it is happening in Croatia, it is happening in Poland, it is happening everywhere, where the state and man have not completely withdrawn, as Romania has done, from the management of this species. ”
Why does the Minister of Environment want to change the law to allow bears to be shot faster? He claims that other methods – relocating animals or isolating them with electric fences – are not effective. In addition, says Barna, there have been increasing cases in which bears endanger people’s lives and property.
The Minister emphasizes that there was also a case in which a bear arrived in Galati County, so we risk “having it in the Danube Delta”.
”It is among the solutions. Because if the man is attacked, the property is attacked, the village is invaded, practically … We have villages with 20, 30 cases of damage per year. We have a county where 1300 sheep were killed, proven in 5 years. 1300 domestic animals in 5 years. There are counties where the number of calls to 112 increases exponentially. What can I say seeing these figures? That we give them an electric fence … That the man when he goes out on the street and sees the bear to take a step back to wait for the bear to pass. So it will be a problem. There was an attack in Câmpulung. He entered the household and ate 2 pigs, an unprecedented event. I had a bear in Galati. So slowly we will have it in the Danube Delta “ – said the Minister of Environment.
Pro TV
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The full interview with the Minister of Environment, Tanczos Barna, conducted by the correspondent Pro TV Vitalie Cojocari, will be published on Wednesday, June 16, in the show “Vitalie’s interviews”.
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