An incident in Romania raises questions: While local media report on the orderly shooting of a brown bear, accusations are being voiced.
Borlesti/Trento – Animal rights activists have sharply criticized an incident in Romania in which a homeowner first locked up a young bear, injured it and then left it to the police to be shot. The young animal broke into a chicken coop in the municipality of Borlesti at the end of August. The alleged torture occurred a few weeks after the Decision of the Romanian government to authorize more bear killings in the country.
As the local newspaper Monitorul citing local councillor Ileana Grigoraș, reported that a bear had been repeatedly sighted near villages at intervals of several days. The municipality assumes that the captured bear was the same animal. It is not known whether it posed a danger to people or was simply looking for food.
Incident from Romania raises questions: Young brown bear apparently locked in a stable, abused and then shot
The surprise was great that the bear was finally “caught by a citizen who, alarmed by the noises in the chicken coop, had the courage to close the gate,” Grigoraș is quoted as saying. “I would like to congratulate the family on their bravery!”
But the story raises questions. The local newspaper writes that a committee made up of representatives of the local authorities, the police, the gendarmerie, the ISU, volunteers and licensed hunters was called to the community to assess the situation. The committee then decided to shoot the animal. No further mistreatment of the bear cub is mentioned. A photo in the newspaper only shows the young bear in front of the closed wooden door of the stable, scratching at the door in an upright position. Dead chickens lie on the floor.
Brown bear is locked in chicken coop and shot – animal rights organisation now wants to protest
The incident is portrayed completely differently by animal rights activists, who now even want to take action against the action. As the Italian newspaper The Dolomites citing the animal welfare organisation Associazione Italiana Difesa Animali & Ambiente (Aidaa) reported that the villager not only locked up the animal, but also repeatedly tortured it with bear spray and beatings with a stick to keep it in the chicken coop. “What happened is simply disgraceful,” the animal rights activists from Aidaa are quoted as saying. “We have decided to protest at the Romanian consulate, but above all to take the protest to the level of the European Parliament.” Most recently, a bear shooting in Trentino also brought animal rights organizations to the barricades.
Where the animal welfare organization got its information from is not mentioned. It is therefore unclear whether the Romanian media are trying to downplay the incident or leave out unpleasant details. In Romania, the aversion and fear of bears has been increasing for some time. after a young woman was fatally injured in an attack in the Carpathians.
According to information from Daily News There are around 8,000 brown bears living in the Carpathians. The brown bear is a protected species in Romania, but can be hunted to a limited extent. The annual number of brown bears allowed to be shot was raised to 481 following the death of a young woman in July, after 220 were allowed in 2023. Bears that are proven to be aggressive can also be shot. (nz)
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