Groehling: Bill on Bears Dangerous, Deals Also with Endangered Lynxes (2)

Bratislava, April 18 (TASR) - The Government-sponsored bill on the bear situation is dangerous and, aside from bears, it deals also with wolves, jackals and endangered lynxes, opposition SaS chair Branislav Groehling declared at a press conference on Thursday. "It seems rather strange to me to address the bear problem through the Civil Protection Act. That makes no sense whatsoever. It's as if we were addressing energy with the Act on Audiovisual Fund," added MP Alojz Hlina (SaS). He finds it inappropriate to include the problem with predators into the legislation that deals with earthquakes, pandemics and terrorist attacks. Hlina sees another problem with the way bear baits have been used. He pointed out that the legislator conceded that there have been bait sites used to lure large predators. "The motion doesn't say that there won't be any bait sites and it doesn't ban them. It says that you can run a bait with the intent to lure large predators," said Hlina. In addition, the SaS MP warned of the vague wording of the law that will enable the declaration of the state of emergency, as the provision lacks any specific defining parameters. During the state of emergency, public tender rules will be suddenly different. "In practice, this might mean that suddenly a mayor or the district authority decides to procure a jeep or 4x4 to chase the bear, without any tender," commented Hlina. Hlina conceded that the problem with bears is real and must be tackled. He proposed to amend the Hunting Act, a sphere to which bears factually belong. SaS declared its readiness to discuss the problem with Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (SNS nominee) and form a committee of the coalition and opposition representatives who could resolve the issue together. On Wednesday (April 17), the Government greenlighted an amendment to the Civil Protection Act that would enable the declaration of the state of emergency over the presence of a brown bear, similarly as in cases of earthquake or terrorist attacks. The Government recommended Parliament to discuss the bill in a fast-tracked procedure. mf