KDH: Mass Bear Cull Excessive and Unlikely to Resolve Issue

Bratislava, April 1 (TASR) - The opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) have criticised Environment Minister Tomas Taraba's proposal to cull 350 bears, calling it an attempt to cover up the government's failures when it comes to managing measures against the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, MP Marian Caucik (KDH) stated on Tuesday. "We're convinced that a mass cull of bears is excessive and won't resolve the situation. There's a need to observe a law proposed by KDH, which means addressing the problem locally, not across the board ... This isn't the right approach," said Caucik. The party believes that the authorities concerned must first implement preventive measures. A dead man was found in the woods near Detva (Banska Bystrica region) on Monday with devastating injuries. Preliminary information indicates that he had been attacked by a brown bear. Environment Minister Tomas Taraba stated on the same day that Slovakia is experiencing population growth among bears, and he announced that State Nature Protection (SOP) has submitted a proposal on Monday to cull 350 bears as part of bear population management. The minister reported that a motion to declare a state of emergency in locations affected by the presence of bears will be submitted to a session of the government on Wednesday (April 2) with the aim of facilitating a cull. lin/df