Bratislava, Slovakia (AP) – Slovakia Wednesday approved a plan to train 350 bears after the last fatal attack on a human.
On Sunday, a 59 -year -old man whose body was found in central Slovakia seemed to have been mutilated, the authorities said.
The Minister of the Environment, Tomáš Taraba, said that bear attacks on humans were increasing and reached 1,900 last year. The population of brown bear in Slovakia is estimated at more than 1,000.
“We cannot live in a country where people are afraid of going to the forests,” said Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
The government has also declared the state of emergency in 55 of the country’s 72 counties, a decision which allows the Ministry of the Environment to directly issue the authorization of the slaughter.
Environmental organizations claim that the decision violates the country’s international obligations and maintains that the country should use preventive measures instead.
The ministry granted the killings of 144 bears in 2024. A similar measure was approved in Romania last year.
