Illustrative stock photo (source: Ján Krošlák)
The measures designed to ease bear attacks are insufficient and unreasonable, say people from an area where a number of bear attacks recently occurred.
On the last day of May, a protest gathering was held in the town of Detva in central Slovakia. People voiced objections to the Environment Ministry’s proposal put forward as a response to bear attacks and encounters in the past months, the My Zvolen local news website reported.
The mayors of the municipalities in the region say they are going to hire lawyers to analyse Slovak and EU laws, to find out how bear protection affects the freedom of people.
"We are not against bears, but inappropriate numbers of them," said Jozef Bučko from the National Forestry Centre as quoted by My Zvolen. "People in the Podpoľanie region learned to live with them in the past. Some 30-40 years ago, people could go into the woods alone, to pick mushrooms or go for a stroll. The hiking trails used to be full. Now people are panicking when entering the woods."
People say that bears encounters are becoming more frequent, with bears sneaking up on farm animals or stealing from fruit trees, allegedly not interested in trash containers like in other villages.
