The serene trails of Romania’s picturesque mountains turned tragic last week when a 19-year-old girl lost her life in a bear attack while hiking with her boyfriend. The incident has sparked a heated debate nationwide, dividing public opinion on wildlife conservation and human safety.

The young couple was exploring the trails of the Bucegi Mountains, renowned for their natural beauty and abundant wildlife. What started as a peaceful day of hiking quickly turned catastrophic when they encountered a bear. Despite efforts to ward off the animal, the bear attacked the young woman, resulting in fatal injuries. Her boyfriend managed to escape and sought help, but it was too late to save her.

All this tragic incident happened while the two called the emergency numbers, and the operators heard the girl being slain by the animal.

This tragic event is not an isolated incident. Bear attacks in Romania have increased in recent years, leading to increased public concern. The Carpathian Mountains, home to Europe’s largest population of brown bears, have become a focal point for these encounters.

The rise in bear attacks has sparked a national debate, splitting public opinion on how to address the issue. Some Romanians are calling for stricter measures to control the growing bear population.

The Minister of the Environment mentioned that, in the last 20 years, in Romania, 27 people were killed by bears and 274 people were disfigured.

On the other hand, conservationists warn against drastic actions. They argue that the bears are a vital part of Romania’s ecosystem and should be protected. Romania is home to the largest population of brown bears in Europe, estimated at around 6,000 individuals. These majestic creatures play a vital role in the ecosystem, controlling prey populations and maintaining healthy forests.

They emphasize the need for better education and preparation for those venturing into bear habitats, including using bear spray, noise-making devices, and adherence to recommended safety guidelines.

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In this year’s spring and autumn campaigns, Romsilva, the Romanian authority for forest protection, will plant 26 million saplings and regenerate over 12,000 hectares, with an allocated budget of more than EUR 60 million.

8,102 hectares will be naturally regenerated, and another 3,985 hectares artificially regenerated through afforestation works. Also, in the state forestry fund, current addition works will be carried out on plantations of 2,381 hectares, and restoration works on plantations affected by calamities will be carried out on another 726 hectares. This year’s budget for carrying out all afforestation works, additions to plantations, restoration of disaster plantations, maintenance of plantations and naturally regenerated surfaces is about 296 million lei.

Romania’s Ministry of Environment Press Release

International and national journalists write on this subject: Romania is a country where illegal loggers kill for the “green gold,” and Romanian secular forests turn to timber for furniture factories.

The international press focused on Romania’s deforestation problems, especially after the killing of a dedicated young forester, 37 years old, in Maramures, a county near the Ukrainian border. His death sent the Romanian authorities and the whole world a strong message: stop illegal logging!

Belgian publication MO—Mondiaal Nieuws dedicated a report to the persistent and unsolved problem of illegal logging in Romanian forests. The journalists said, “Efforts against global warming will be pointless if we cut down Romanian primeval forests.”

Yet, despite the government’s annual efforts, crimes continue to be committed in Romania by those who consider forests their business yard. Unfortunately, as things go in Romania at the moment, this investment in afforestation seems nothing more than one to fuel the illegal loggers’ need for more timber.

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Here is the petition addressed by Agent Green to Roberta Metsola.

Dear Mrs. Roberta Metsola,

We would like to call your attention to the implementation of the Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive) by the Romanian Government concerning one of the protected species from Annex II and IV, Ursus arctos.

The species is endangered by the normative acts passed since 2021, respectively, The Emergency Governmental Ordinance 81/2021 and the Law that approved and modified the Ordinance, no 197/2022. As a result of the government propaganda that brown bears are very dangerous and cold-blooded killers, the Minister of Environment Waters and Forests recently proposed an Order for killing 486 brown bears.

The national action plan for conserving the brown bear population in Romania, approved by the Minister of the Environment no. 625/2018, was never implemented, as the Minister recognized in front of the Court of Justice, as detailed in the annexed report.

The Brown Bears are being sacrificed in Romania because of the lack of conservation measures and to indulge the hunter’s need for trophies. The Arthur Affaire in April 2021 is a perfect example of the illegal hunting parties organized in Romania.

The mentioned legislation allows the killing of Brown Bears by a team composed of a representative of the hunting fund and a gendarme, a representative of the town hall and a veterinarian, who do not have previous expertise, do not possess equipment or substances for veterinary use and are not trained to intervene in such situations where capture is necessary, tranquillizing or possibly euthanizing some bears. They are allowed to kill if the bear seems to be dangerous, both inside the localities and in their natural environment, regardless of the age of the bear. This practice occurs in Natura 2000 sites and violates the Habitats Directive.

The order allowing 486 bears that are neither dangerous nor create any prejudices to anyone is based on only a preliminary study, as it is stated on the first page.

The study only criminalizes bears and categorizes them as dangerous without analyzing prevention and conservation measures. At the same time, this study completely lacks an assessment of the impact of killing the 486 bears; a scientific assessment of the bear population is lacking. Also, an analysis of the causes that lead to human-bear conflicts is missing to determine the most appropriate prevention methods.

As a result, the hunting activities, which are illegal under the current EU legislation, lead to human-bear conflicts, which are provoked by the hunters interfering in the natural habitats of the bears. Therefore, instead of killing bears, Romanian authorities should address the root causes of such encounters, namely illegal hunting in protected areas.

Logging destroys the habitat for bears beyond repair. As a result, they search for shelter and food and are pushed toward human settlements.

We ask you to address this issue in the committee for Petitions and, by doing so, help to protect natural habitats for bears in Romania. We sincerely rely on the understanding of the Members of the European Parliament and their will to address on the EU level the severe issue of hunting, as well as the equally serious issue of the national authorities voluntarily and knowingly going against the EU obligations for nature conservation.

Best regards,

Gabriel Paun, President

The context of the petition to stop the killing of bears in Romania

The bear population in Romania is lower than the official estimates. NGOs conducted extensive research and tracking of bear families and concluded that the bear population is lower than the official figures by at least 25%.

For two years in a row, the volunteers from Conservation Carpathia Foundation collected 1,700 DNA samples from bears and sent them to a laboratory in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The results bluntly contradicted the official figures.

We got a density of 17-18 bears per hundred square kilometers. The official data show around 21 bears per hundred square kilometers. These official data are subjective and shouldn’t be used in the management of this species in Romania.

Ruben Iosif, biologist, Conservation Carpathia Foundation

The fact is that the Romanian authorities seem to have been misusing the data. More precisely, the collection of this data is the problem. The Romanian Ministry of Environment and Forests use the forest rangers’ observations to count the bear population. How precise can they be?

More than that, a recent study published by the same Ministry shows the bear population is close to 8,000. The very minister who signed the order for killing bears in Romania asked, in the past, for the killing of 5,000 bears and estimated, personally, in 2015, that the bear population in Romania is at least 10,000. These bluntly fake numbers made Euronews call the minister “bad news for the bear population in Romania.”

Interestingly, the minister, whose name we prefer not to recall and who has just been ousted from the Ministry after the Hungarian Minority Party entered Opposition, signed the order on his very last day at the office. How cynical is that? What interests can be found behind this sort of order?

About Agent Green

Agent Green is the NGO that came up, along with Charlie Ottley, with the brilliant idea of involving companies in what they called the “bear rights campaign.” They appealed to the companies using bears in their logos, names or communication and asked them to contribute to protecting this species.

The famous British director Charlie Ottley was thrilled to be the main character in the videos shot for the Bear Rights campaign.

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In 2011, the hunting of wood grouses was forbidden. The species was considered endangered after years of hunting, and the ban on hunting these spectacular birds allowed the population to grow again. But the very Minister of Environment considered it had grown too large in number and signed a decision to allow hunting again.

The NGOs disagreed, though, and addressed the Romanian court. The decision came very quickly: the order given by the minister was suspended; thus, the species is now protected, and hunting is banned.

It’s not a final decision, though, but it’s a big step to stop what would’ve been a hunting spree. The order mentioned that 239 wood grouses could be hunted. Interestingly enough, the county where the Minister lives, Harghita, received the most significant quota in the country.

Tanczos Barna is famous for supporting bear hunting. In his opinion, the bear population in Romania has grown too big, but again, the environmentalists contradict the official figures.

Romanians started to care about the environment. After years of illegal logging and hunting sprees destroyed flora and fauna in the country, the people started fighting against those who broke the law. Smartphone apps have been designed to help Romanians report any illegal activity they notice, such as trucks carrying logs, and the police are notified and take appropriate action.

This is why decisions, such as those recently taken by the Minister of Environment, are not well received by the locals. Romania has started to understand that its inheritance, the secular forests and the diverse flora and fauna, are meant to be protected for future generations and foreign tourists to continue to enjoy nature in the country.

People like Charlie Ottley, the British producer now living in Romania, immensely helped. Charlie produced quite a few documentaries on Romania. Wild Carpathia, featuring King Charles III, who owns properties in Transylvania, Flavors of Romania, where he wonders the country to show each region, and Wild Danube, a documentary dedicated to this exceptional area. Maybe, at least from time to time, Romanians have to learn that the experience of Western environmentalists is needed when it comes to protecting the environment.

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For two years in a row, the volunteers from Conservation Carpathia Foundation collected 1,700 DNA samples from bears and sent them to a laboratory in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The results bluntly contradicted the official figures.

We got a density of 17-18 bears per hundred square kilometers. The official data show around 21 bears per hundred square kilometers. These official data are subjective and shouldn’t be used in the management of this species in Romania.

Ruben Iosif, biologist, Conservation Carpathia Foundation

The fact is that the Romanian authorities seem to have been using the data in the wrong way. More precisely, the collection of this data is the problem. The Romanian Ministry of Environment and Forests use the forest rangers’ observations to count the bear population. How precise can they be?

It is certain that a bear travels on 2, 3 or even 5 hunting areas. It is possible for the same bear to be counted many times.

Mihai Zota, director of Conservation Carpathia Foundation

Romania is a country where the official estimations say there are 6,000 bears. This is a figure used by the Ministry to authorize the killings. What if, according to the research conducted by Conservation Carpathia Foundation, the actual number is less than 5,000?

The Romanian Minister of Environment is a strong advocate of the necessity to kill some of the bear population in Romania. The Ministry of Environment was one of the promoters of this idea, and the officials struggled to do so in their public speeches or press releases.

Even so, there is still strong opposition from wildlife lovers in Romania. Agent Green, an environmental organization, claimed that the Austrian Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein was responsible for shooting Arthur, the biggest bear ever seen in the European Union. Later on, it was proved that his nationality was not Austrian, as he was born in Liechtenstein. The Romanians attacked with negative reviews the castle his family owns in the Austrian region of Styria, castle Riegersburg. The attack was so massive that Google had to stop the reviews feature for the castle and erase all the negative comments related to the poaching.

The conclusion is simple: if the bear population is less than estimated, by 25% or any other percentage, the Ministry of Environment should take the necessary measures accordingly. It might even be required to reconsider its position in the matter by stopping the unnecessary killings.

Either way, thanks to the ONG, the bears will be adequately counted, and, who knows, some of them might even be saved from being killed as trophies.

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