Environment minister proposes cutting trees to stop "hiding" bears
Amendment to allow killing of bears to be discussed in parliament.
Slovakia has a problem with bears. According to experts, the bear has become a synathrope, meaning an animal that lives near humans and benefits from their activity. Some come close to municipalities in search of food.
Recent reports of attacks prompted Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS nom.) to act.
Originally, he proposed a constitutional law that would allow the killing of brown bears, calling it "the most direct and elegant solution". The possibility of killing the animal in a municipality was included, as well as up to 500 metres away from a municipality. The draft did not state that the animal had to be a threat.
"It's almost like in Bogota, where dogs run in the streets and people have to hide," he claimed.
An agreement with KDH
Taraba and opposition KDH (Christian Democrats) eventually found an agreement. In a usual bill, the latter proposed, among other things, that if large animals threaten people's lives or cause any economic damage, an emergency situation may be declared in a given area. Then, the ministry will be able to issue unlimited exemptions for killing. In practice, this means that intervention teams and hunters can also shoot a wolf, jackal or lynx, which is a critically endangered species.
The minister accepted this change.
At the moment, bears can only be killed with a ministerial exception. Before doing so, it is necessary to prove that preventive measures have been taken.
However, if accepted, the ministry will approve exceptions outside the administrative order. It will not be possible to file an appeal against the decision, and neither the public nor NGOs will be involved in the process.
Intervention teams and hunters will no longer have to prove that the animal they want to eliminate is causing problems as the condition now. The shooting of an unlimited number of animals will be allowed.
The minister wants to push it through fast-track procedure in the current parliament session.
Cutting down trees
But during the April 24 government away-from-home session, Taraba proposed his own bill. The bill would introduce new rules for the felling of trees, so that the landscape is more visible and bears cannot easily hide themselves in it. This would also prevent the accidental meetings of humans and bears.
According to the bill, trees with a trunk circumference of up to 80 centimetres could be removed without a permit. Currently, this applies to trees with a circumference of up to 40 centimetres.
The change should concern not only trees in forests. It will enable the removal of a huge amount of wood near roads, in vineyards, or near rivers, for example. Overall, the bill has the potential to affect one-fifth of Slovakia's territory.
Taraba wants the fast-track procedure applied in this case as well, even though such a procedure is allowed solely in the event of a threat to basic human rights and freedoms or security, or if the state is in danger of significant economic damage.
According to ecologist EriK Baláž, there is a rationale to the bill as farmers have problems with overgrown land and obtaining a permit poses an obstacle. However, there may be an unwanted effect in that it causes interference with bird nests.
SaS MP Alojz Hlina is critical of the proposal, saying that it will change the country forever and grant freedom in the felling of trees.
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