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Slovakia will allow the killing of 350 brown bears after a man was killed in a bear attack last weekend. The country has around 1,000 brown bears.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The 59-year-old man\u2019s body was found in central Slovakia on Sunday. Authorities said he was likely attacked by a bear.<\/p>\n Environment Minister Tom\u00e1\u0161 Taraba said bear attacks are increasing. In 2024, there were around 1,900 reported human-bear encounters.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Robert Fico said people should not be afraid to walk in forests where bears live.<\/p>\n The government has declared a state of emergency in 55 of Slovakia\u2019s 72 counties. This allows the environment ministry to approve the bear killings directly.<\/p>\n Animal protection groups say the decision breaks international rules. They believe the country should focus on prevention instead of killing bears.<\/p>\n In 2024, Slovakia already approved the killing of 144 bears. Romania introduced a\u00a0similar plan<\/a>\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n Romania allowed the killing of 481 bears in 2024 after a woman was killed by a bear while hiking. The emergency law aimed to reduce what the government called bear overpopulation.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, environmental groups said bear attacks were increasing because humans are moving into bear habitats<\/a>, and climate change is reducing bears\u2019 natural food.<\/p>\n They said killing bears was not a real solution and called for preventive measures instead, like electric fences, better waste management, and education programs to avoid human-bear conflicts.<\/p>\n The Animal Reader is an independent animal news platform based in the Netherlands. We share daily updates about animal-related issues.<\/em><\/p>\n Support The Animal Reader \u2013 Daily Animal News<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n