Exemptions Issued to Cull 126 Problem Bears Since Beginning of Year

Banska Bystrica, 5 June (TASR) - Since the beginning of this year, the Environment Ministry has issued a total of 24 exemptions that allow 126 brown bears to be culled, ministry state secretary Filip Kuffa stated in Banska Bystrica on Thursday, evaluating the current situation in connection with the occurrence of the brown bear in Slovakia. Of this number, hunters had culled 13 problem animals by the end of May. Meanwhile, a special brown bear intervention team has eliminated 19 bears who were encroaching on inhabited areas. "Every single application is rigorously evaluated. A territory is set for each decision. There are areas where hunting is not allowed. There is no indiscriminate slaughter of 350 bears going on, as we've been accused of," pointed out Kuffa. Kuffa further noted that the intervention teams have been strengthened and expanded to cover the national parks. They take action when problem bears are found in built-up areas of municipalities or in their immediate surroundings, where hunters are not allowed to cull. am/df