Following the tragic death of a 19-year-old girl mauled by a wild bear in Romania, the country decisively decided to increase its annual culling of the animals. Conversely, in Italy, the killing of a female bear that had injured a French tourist ignited a public row on how to manage aggressive members of the nation’s increasing bear numbers.
Piero Genovesi, the lead for wildlife coordination at Italy’s government-associated Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, pointed out the national issues seen in Italy about killing bears, contrary to other countries’ approach. The varying reactions to the two incidents underscore the conundrum faced by European governments as they try to conserve wildlife while also ensuring public safety.
Under EU law, brown bears are protected species and Italy’s rewilding efforts have seen its numbers shoot up. However, managing the situations arising from more frequent human-bear encounters is proving challenging.
In Romania, the recent tragic death led to public outcry and calls for action, with images of the incident shared widely on social media. Lawmakers responded by increasing bear culling quotas from 220 in the previous year to 481 this year, projected to rise in 2025.
Csaba Domokos, a bear specialist with the Milvus Group, an environmental NGO in the region, spoke of the prevailing mantra of ‘human lives first’. With Europe’s biggest brown bear population, approximately 8,000 at present, Romania has seen at least 27 people die in the last 20 years.
Mircea Fechet, the environment minister of Romania, emphasised the need to address the overpopulation of bears, referring to the surge in emergency calls and fatalities related to bear attacks.
On the other hand, in Italy, where the bear population is significantly smaller, the argument on dealing with dangerous animals tends to focus on specific bears and their aggravating behaviour. The French tourist injured by a bear in the Italian Alps expressed deep sorrow and intense guilt following the death of the bear, a mother to three cubs.
Triffaux expressed a sentiment of disappointment in an open letter, stating his aim was to determine a middle ground ensuring safety for individuals while also preserving biodiversity. The process of rewilding was initiated by Rome in 1999 when only three aged male bears remained in Italy’s alpine region, a situation which pointed to their imminent extinction. Slovenia contributed nine bears to this initiative, settling them in a natural reserve in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, spanning 620sq km. This was a project that earned partial financial support from the EU.
Initially, this endeavour was favoured as local authorities viewed it as a way to promote tourism. However, the bear population in the Italian Alps has now grown to about 120, encroaching beyond the undefined boundaries of the park, posing a risk to local residents and trekkers. Genoesi opined against any attempt to isolate bears from humans stating, “In Trentino, there is no land that houses only animals. Coexistence is imperative”.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Andrea Papi, a 26-year-old resident was brutally killed by a bear during a jog near his residence, marking the first occurrence of such a tragic incident in Italy in the last 150 years. This bear, identified as JJ4, had previously attacked a man and his son in 2020 while they were trekking Mount Peller. Regardless of experts suggesting the bear be euthanised, the environment minister at the time disregarded the advice. Following Papi’s death, orders were issued to kill JJ4, but it was met with successful legal opposition from animal rights advocates. The result was the bear being captured and imprisoned in a secure enclosure.
Activities escalated post an attack this year on a French trekker, and the bear involved was executed within hours of issuing the death warrant. Claudia Taccani, a legal representative for the International Organisation for Animal Protection critiqued the rapid decision-making process by stating, “The order came in the evening, and by night the bear was killed. There was no opportunity to safeguard the bear’s rights.”
Gilberto Pichetto Frattin, Italian environment minister, considered individual bears’ euthanasia an ineffective solution to a predicament arising from a decision made two and a half decades ago to reintroduce bears for bolstering alpine tourism. He suggests bear sterilisation as an untried alternative. Meanwhile, Genovesi from the governmental agency cautioned that if threatening bears were not promptly dealt with, it could evoke hostility amongst locals. He emphasised the need for immediate action, with less discussion, to eliminate dangerous bears.
The late dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, who was in power until his execution in 1989, was known for his fondness for bear hunting. Following the collapse of the communist regime, Romanian officials permitted the continuation of this profitable enterprise. This status quo changed in 2016 when, under influence from scientists and environmentalists, the government in Bucharest banned sport hunting of bears.
However, by 2017, permissions were established to kill “problematical” bears which frequently infiltrate villages and cause harm to livestock or property.
Conservationists have expressed concerns that the higher quotas for culling could lead to the incorrect targeting of bears. Domokos highlighted that foreign hunters who invest substantial sums are typically seeking to experience the thrill of hunting in the wilderness, not wait near towns for a bear to emerge from a rubbish bin. – Financial Times Limited 2024 Copyright.