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The Slovak government has decided to allow the consumption of brown bear meat, angering environmentalists who on Wednesday slammed the move as absurd and giving a boost to poachers.<\/p>\n
Slovakia\u2019s nationalist government last month approved the culling of 350 bears, citing danger posed to people and a steady increase in bear population.<\/p>\n
Filip Kuffa, a state secretary at the environment ministry, said on Facebook this week the state would offer culled animals for resale “because bear meat is edible”.<\/p>\n
Brown bears are protected in Europe, but there are exemptions on shooting and several countries including Slovenia also allow bear meat consumption.<\/p>\n
Kuffa said bear meat must have a certificate before it hits the market, proving that the animal was hunted in compliance with an exemption from protection.<\/p>\n
Environmentalist Marian Hletko told AFP<\/i> on Wednesday the decision was “absurd” as the meat will be offered by the environment ministry\u2019s organisations.<\/p>\n
“The organisations designed to protect nature will turn into state-run butcheries offering the meat of protected animals,” said Hletko, from the We Are Forest initiative.<\/p>\n
He added it would also boost poaching as “when the state signals it is not interested in protecting bears, poachers will be less worried about potential sanctions”.<\/p>\n
The government declared a state of emergency in most Slovak districts in April over “undesirable” bear presence, following deadly attacks.<\/p>\n
“We can\u2019t live in a country where people are afraid to go to the woods,” said Prime Minister Robert Fico.<\/p>\n
The Slovak parliament already eased the rules for bear culling in May 2024, allowing exemptions in several districts.<\/p>\n
But the country must follow an EU directive that allows culling only of problem bears damaging property or attacking people, and only if there is no other solution.<\/p>\n
Hletko said that a record-high 92 bears were shot in the EU member country of 5.4 million people in 2024, while another 52 died in car accidents or were killed by poachers.<\/p>\n
Environment Minister Tomas Taraba recently said the Slovak bear population exceeded 1,300 animals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n