Romania promises laws to deal with brown bears as population estimate doubles

Romania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the country's forestry research institute has said, as officials promised new laws to allow communities to deal with 'crisis bear situations'.
The institute's study of 25 counties in the Carpathian mountains was the first to use DNA samples from material such as faeces and hair. Previous estimates based on prints and sightings put the bear population at less than 8,000.
According to environment ministry figures, bears have killed 26 people and severely injured 274 others over the past 20 years in Romania, the most recent fatality being a 19-year-old hiker who was mauled to death on a popular Carpathian trail last July.
The government last year more than doubled its authorised cull of brown bears, a protected species in the EU, to 481 after recording more than 7,500 emergency calls to signal bear sightings in 2023 – more than twice the previous year's total.
MPs argue 'overpopulation' is leading to an increase in attacks, an assertion disputed by environmental groups who say the focus must be shifted towards prevention, by keeping bears away from communities and targeting specific 'problem bears'.
Germany's foreign ministry last week updated its Romania travel advice, noting that bears were increasingly venturing into residential areas and along roads, leading to 'dangerous encounters with humans'. It urged travellers to heed local warnings.
Based on an analysis of about 24,000 samples collected over three years since 2022, the institute's study, published late last week, concluded there were between 10,419 and 12,770 individuals living in Romania – by far Europe's largest brown bear population outside Russia.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Romania has since questioned its methods, saying genetic studies were usually conducted over a much shorter period, but the institute has said it considers the survey 95% accurate.
The Romanian environment minister, Mircea Fechet, said he would lobby the European Commission to lift the bears' protected status. The EU's habitats directive allows the animal to be killed only in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort.
'We have to intervene,' Fechet told local media. 'The specialists say the optimal bear population is around 4,000.'
Sign up to Down to Earth
The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential
after newsletter promotion
He also promised to introduce a law allowing local officials to bypass the current system of 'gradual intervention' – which obliges mayors to first try to scare a bear off, or capture and relocate it – and instead put the animal down directly if necessary.
Existing methods 'have so far proven ineffective', Fechet said, adding: 'I hope my proposal, which is currently under public consultation, will put an end to these tragedies. Human life comes first.'
Slovakia this month also authorised a cull of 350 brown bears – about a quarter of its estimated population of 1,300 – after a 59-year-old man was mauled to death. Two other people died last year after being attacked or chased by bears.
Slovaks 'cannot live in a country where people are afraid to go into the forest, and where humans become food for bears', said the country's populist prime minister, Robert Fico.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Belfast Telegraph

3 hours ago

• Belfast Telegraph

NI race riots: Total number of arrests now stands at 36 as man (26) latest to be charged

As of Sunday, the total number of people arrested in relation to recent rioting in Northern Ireland is now 36. Officers from the PSNI's Public Order Enquiry Team investigating the disorder have also charged a 26-year-old man to court. He has been charged with riot and is due to appear before Coleraine Magistrates' Court on Monday (June 23). As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service. Two men, also arrested on Friday, have further been charged; a 42-year-old man arrested for intentionally encouraging or assisting riot and a 54-year-old man charged with riot. Both appeared before Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Saturday (June 21). PSNI chief warns rioters 'we will arrest you' The unrest began on Monday, June 9, in Ballymena. That night, what started as a vigil for a teenage girl quickly escalated into riots targeting immigrant communities, triggered by the court appearance of two 14-year-old Romanian-speaking boys charged with attempted rape. Violent scenes unfolded over four consecutive nights across multiple towns: Ballymena, Portadown, Larne, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Derry, and east Belfast. Rioters targeted immigrant homes and businesses, setting fires and launching petrol bombs, bricks, fireworks, and missiles. Over 64 officers were injured across Northern Ireland, including 41 in Ballymena and 23 in Portadown. This unrest forms part of a broader rise in racially motivated hate crimes, which have surged to their highest levels in Northern Ireland since 2004 – 1,188 incidents were recorded from April 2024 to March 2025

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

• Scottish Sun

Rape charge against asylum seeker in taxpayer-funded hotel kept quiet to avoid inflaming ‘community tension in cover up'

Nigel Farage has demanded the council officials who hid the truth face the sack 'RAPE COVER-UP' Rape charge against asylum seeker in taxpayer-funded hotel kept quiet to avoid inflaming 'community tension in cover up' A RAPE charge against a man staying in an asylum hotel was kept quiet — as officials feared inflaming 'community tension'. There were also two other rape cases where it was not disclosed that the suspects were in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels. Advertisement 4 Council officials recommended rape charges against an asylum seeker living at a taxpayer-funded hotel be kept quiet Credit: Darren Fletcher Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said the 'perception of a migrant cover-up' was growing. He went on: 'The illegal small-boat crossings are a national security emergency. "We've seen terrorism, murders and rapes from those who've come here illegally. It's outrageous. 'Women in towns with asylum hotels shouldn't have to live in fear. Advertisement READ MORE ON ASYLUM SEEKERS BOUND FOR BRITAIN Speaking French & German… migrants booted out of EU heading to Britain The authorities must trust the public with the truth and act to protect them.' The rape suspects were all housed in Home Office-funded accommodation in Portsmouth, London and Manchester. At Portsmouth, the alleged rape was followed by a concerted effort to keep secret the suspect's link to an asylum hotel. He was charged with rape and voyeurism after the alleged attack on a woman on June 11. Advertisement Police confirmed to The Sun he had been at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, used to house asylum seekers. The man appeared at Portsmouth magistrates' court on June 16. He was remanded in custody and is no longer at the hotel. Migrants dodge tear gas in sprint across beach to reach boats bound for Britain No statement was issued about the case but Portsmouth City Council officials were briefed privately. The Sun understands councillors were warned not to speak about the suspect's housing, with one council officer raising fears about 'community tension' if it was known. Advertisement Another senior official privately urged Portsmouth Independents Party leader Cllr George Madgwick not to share 'privileged confidential information' after he took to social media to express his frustration. 4 Reform leader Nigel Farage has called for dismissals of the council officials involved Credit: Getty 4 Robert Jenrick MP has warned the 'perception of a migrant cover-up' was growing Credit: Getty Cllr Madgwick said: 'This is precisely why the public don't trust politicians and public bodies: things are hidden that should be disclosed. Advertisement Anyone involved in any form of cover-up from disclosure to the public should question their role in a publicly funded position.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said last night: 'The council officials who hid the truth about these serious allegations should immediately face the sack. "Decent people are getting angrier every day.' Portsmouth City Council effectively ad­mit­ted it chose not to go public, saying it was informed of the charge ahead of the court hearing but left public statements to police. Advertisement A spokesman said: 'We knew the Home Office accommodation link would become public knowledge through the court proceedings and, based on events elsewhere in the country, were conscious there may be community tensions related to it.' Girl 'sex ordeal' EXCLUSIVE By Alex Diaz A MIGRANT living at an asylum seeker hotel raped a vulnerable 17-year-old girl, a court heard. Mohammed Akbari, 23, allegedly attacked her in bushes after they arranged to go to a park, having first met at a hospital. The teen felt dizzy after Akbari, from Iran, gave her an alcoholic drink, Uxbridge magistrates' court heard. She allegedly told him to stop the assault, in Harmondsworth, West London, on June 9. He claims she consented to sex. Akbari arrived in the UK last year, claiming he is Christian and at risk in Iran. He is in custody and will return to court on July 18. Two similar cases also saw no public statements issued about the suspects' links to asylum housing. One involved a 27-year-old man staying at a hotel in Kensington, West London. He faces multiple charges over a serious sex attack, including rape and attempted rape. Advertisement He pleaded not guilty on June 2 and was remanded in custody before a trial in October. In Manchester, a Jordanian with an asylum claim under way was charged with rape while living at a Home Office-contracted hotel. He appeared at Tameside magistrates' court last month and was remanded in custody until a crown court hearing next week. The man, 34, has yet to enter a plea. Meanwhile, an asylum seeker in a hotel in Yorkshire was charged with raping a girl aged 13 to 15 last Boxing Day. 4 There have been multiple assaults involving asylum seekers across the UK Credit: Alamy Advertisement Last night the Government said: 'We have taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum.' Our revelations come after an illegal migrant was jailed for raping a girl of 15, amid claims he did not understand 'cultural differences'. Afghan national Sadeq Nikzad, 29, pounced on the teen in Falkirk in October 2023. Defence counsel Janice Green told the High Court in Livingston there was a 'cultural barrier' with Nikzad's home nation where child marriage is common. There is no suggestion any of the accused in the three latest rape cases are linked to grooming gangs. Advertisement But the issue of alleged criminality by illegal arrivals was raised in an official report this week. A damning review by Dame Louise Casey found they are involved in a 'significant proportion' of live police investigations into child sex grooming gangs. The report found police and council leaders covered up the scale of Asian grooming gangs since concerns were first raised in 2009 as they feared being called racist or raising community tensions. Additional reporting: RICHARD MORIARTY

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

• Daily Mirror

Brit knocked unconscious by single punch during row with Benidorm bouncers

The unidentified British tourist and his pals were getting rowdy with bouncers in a Benidorm bar when a local intervened and knocked him unconscious A British tourist was knocked out cold when a Spanish local sucker-punched him during a row with bouncers in Benidorm. A fellow reveller captured the moment the unidentified Brit fell to the floor after the vicious sucker punch at a bar in the Spanish resort town on Sunday night. ‌ Eyewitnesses recalled how another pubgoer had asked him and his pals to leave when a bouncer decided to intervene. The tension racheted up and things became "heated", one person said. ‌ In the footage, the Brit dressed in a white outfit is pushed by a group of men. His friend then steps in before the man is brutally punched in the face and falls to the floor. Shockingly, his leg can also be seen bending unnaturally back towards his hip. A woman with a pink cowboy hat on her head rushes over and crouches over him while the man's friends carry on with their brawl. Another reveller said: "It's always the d***head Brits - it makes you ashamed to be a Brit sometimes. We'd been in there for two hours or so - it seemed a nice bar and all of a sudden we heard a bit of a commotion. "There was a smaller guy who we think was a local and he looked like a bouncer but looked a bit too small to be one. He was asking them to leave, and then the larger bouncer came over and things got a bit heated. It looks like the smaller guy then knocks him out. He was out cold, and his leg looked dislocated." ‌ The man's condition is currently unknown. It comes months after a Brit was left fighting for his life after being punched by a bouncer outside a Benidorm nightclub. Andrew Frazer, 43, was allegedly floored by a doorman in an 'unprovoked' attack during a lads' break to the famous Costa Blanca resort just over a week after proposing to long-term partner Carrie Howard. The father-of-two, from St Helens, Merseyside, had to have part of his skull cut away to relieve swelling on the brain. He was taken back to the UK with a gruelling 27-hour journey in the back of a private ambulance because his injuries were too severe for a medical flight. Overnight it emerged a 42-year-old Romanian man had been arrested over the early-hours incident on November 14 outside a pub in Benidorm's famous Little England area. The unnamed suspect was held last week on suspicion of a crime of wounding.