Current:Home > FinanceAfter 19-year-old woman mauled to death, Romania authorizes the killing of nearly 500 bears -Wealth Navigators Hub
After 19-year-old woman mauled to death, Romania authorizes the killing of nearly 500 bears
View
Date:2025-04-12 22:11:11
Romania's parliament on Monday approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in a bid to control the protected species' "overpopulation" after a deadly attack on a 19-year-old hiker sparked nationwide outcry.
Last week, local media reported that a 19-year-old female tourist — identified by the Daily Mail as Maria Diana — was attacked and killed by a bear while she was hiking with her boyfriend.
"From the information we have, the bear attacked the young woman on the trail, dragged her into the vegetation next to the trail, and somewhere in this vegetation dropped her into a chasm and fell there. The bear came down after her," Sabin Corniou, the head of Romania's mountain rescue services, told CNN's Antena 3.
The bear was killed after it reportedly tried to attack the rescuers.
Romania is home to Europe's largest brown bear population outside of Russia with 8,000, according to the environment ministry.
Bears have killed 26 people and severely injured 274 others over the last 20 years in the southeastern European country, the ministry said earlier this year.
After the young hiker was mauled to death on a popular trail in Romania's Carpathian Mountains, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu summoned lawmakers back from their summer recess to attend an emergency session of parliament.
As well as adopting legislation to control the brown bear population, the parliament held a moment of silence in the 19-year-old hiker's memory.
The law adopted Monday authorizes the culling of 481 bears in 2024, more than twice last year's total of 220.
Lawmakers argued that the bears' "overpopulation" led to an increase in attacks, while admitting that the law will not prevent attacks in the future.
Environmental groups have denounced the measure.
"The law solves absolutely nothing," World Wildlife Fund biologist Calin Ardelean told AFP, arguing that the focus should be shifted towards "prevention and intervention" as well as so-called "problem bears".
According to WWF Romania, culls will not remedy the problem unless measures are put in place to keep bears away from communities, such as better waste management or preventing people from feeding animals.
In 2023, about 7,500 emergency calls to signal bear sightings were recorded, more than double the previous year, according to data presented last week by Romanian authorities.
Earlier this year, in Slovakia, a woman died after being chased by a bear through dense forest and mountainous terrain. Wildlife researchers previously estimated that the concentration of Slovakian bears was second only to Romania in terms of prevalence.
- In:
- Bear
- Romania
veryGood! (32867)
Related
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Armed man fatally shot by police in Baltimore suburb, officials say
- Trump plans to deliver a closing argument at his civil fraud trial, AP sources say
- 18 Products That Will Motivate You to Get Your $#!t Together
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Lawyers may face discipline for criticizing a judge’s ruling in discrimination case
- The family of an Arizona professor killed on campus reaches multimillion-dollar deal with the school
- West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, known for quirky speeches, will give final one before US Senate run
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- For 2024, some simple lifestyle changes can improve your little piece of the planet
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- In $25M settlement, North Carolina city `deeply remorseful’ for man’s wrongful conviction, prison
- Joey Fatone, AJ McLean promise joint tour will show 'magic of *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys'
- When are the Emmy Awards? What to know about the host, 2024 nominees and predicted winners
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Kremlin foe Navalny, smiling and joking, appears in court via video link from an Arctic prison
- Israel taps top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to battle genocide claim at world court
- Jimmy John's Kickin' Ranch is leaving. Here's how you can get a bottle of it for 1 cent.
Recommendation
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
Missouri lawmaker expelled from Democratic caucus announces run for governor
Japan’s nuclear safety agency orders power plant operator to study the impact of Jan. 1 quake
CBS announces exclusive weeklong residency in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII
Small twin
“We are on air!” Masked gunmen storm TV studio in Ecuador as gang attacks in the country escalate
Diet for a Sick Planet: Studies Find More Plastic in Our Food and Bottled Water
Barry Keoghan reveals he battled flesh-eating disease: 'I'm not gonna die, right?'