Explosion of the bear population in Hunedoara: “They have changed their habits, they come down to people's households”
The number of bears living on the hunting grounds in Hunedoara county is four times higher than the regulations in force provide. According to the data collected by the authorities, over 1,000 bears live in the area.
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“The evaluation action of protected species – brown bear, wolf, lynx and wild cat is carried out annually. It is a procedure for estimating specimens of these species.
The Romanian Academy communicated an optimal number of 250 bear specimens, in Hunedoara county. The estimated number this year is 1,077 copies“, said Thursday, June 11, the director of the Hunedoara County Environment Directorate (DJM), Georgeta Barabaş, according to Agerpres.
The monitoring and estimation in the field of the flocks of strictly protected species took place in the months of April – May, within the scope of the hunting and hunting funds on the territory of Hunedoara county.
The collected data show that 660 wolves, 273 lynxes and 538 wild cats live in the area.
Compared to last year, there were increases in each species, so that there is an increase of 5% in bears, in wolf specimens there is an increase of almost 13%, and in wild cats, by 4.5%.
Regarding the damage caused by bears, last year more than 120 files were prepared for attacks on households, while for this year there are already 30 such files in the works.
The bear mainly attacked horses, sheep and cattle.
“The number of bears has increased because they live in a favorable environment, and the number of interventions on hunting funds is small. The bears have changed their habits, they no longer hibernate, they go down to people's households”Barabaş pointed out.
In 2026, the extraction of 37 bears from the hunting funds was established in Hunedoara county, but the procedure is blocked because the act that establishes the established level of prevention was challenged at the Constitutional Court.
There are 29 hunting associations within Hunedoara county, which manage the 70 hunting funds.
The brown bear could lose its status as a protected species
Recently, the Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Agriculture, Tanczos Barna, announced that Romania will start official steps at the level of the European Commission to change the protection status of the brown bear, so that the species is no longer included in the strictly protected category.
“We have had several discussions since the time when I was at the Ministry of the Environment regarding the brown bear population in Romania. Today we have a law proposing to increase the hunting quotas. Unfortunately, this law is at the Constitutional Court.
We are waiting for the Court's decision, but at the same time, I believe that at the level of the European Union we must properly inform all the member states and inform the Commissioner that the situation can no longer be tolerated as it is”, said Tanczos Barna, stating that he has already started the steps to obtain the support of several member states, according to Agerpres.
The approach will also be discussed within the AGRIFISH Council, where Romania will request an extended debate on this topic.
