Environmental Police to Deal with Case of Bear Shot in Liptovsky Mikulas

Liptovsky Mikulas, April 23 (TASR) - An investigator of the police's environmental section will deal with a case in which a bear that injured five people in the centre of the town of Liptovsky Mikulas in March was shot, Police Corps Presidium spokesperson Denisa Bardyova confirmed for TASR on Tuesday. The 'We Are Forest' NGO has filed a criminal motion regarding the matter on suspicion of the unlawful killing of a protected animal. The Environment Ministry in its reaction called this "a desperate attempt by the NGO to make itself visible". "We can confirm that the criminal motion has been submitted to us. An investigator of the police's environmental section will deal with the case and will proceed in line with the law," said Bardyova, adding that she can provide no more information at the moment. The NGO's representatives announced their intention to file the criminal motion late last week. They doubt that the right bear was killed near Liptovsky Mikulas. According to the NGO, it was just a show to appease some of the public. "The bear that ran through Liptovsky Mikulas and injured five people was identified as a male weighing 80-100 kilogrammes, while the one that was shot dead was a she-bear weighing 67.9 kilogrammes. We believe that the conditions set by law weren't met in this case and that it was an accidentally shot bear that hadn't lost its fear of people and wasn't threatening people or their property with its behaviour," explained Ondrej Kameniar of 'We Are Forest'. ko/df