Slovakia approves the sale of brown bear meat for the public

The meat of brown bears, a protective species in the EU, may soon appear in Slovakia after the populist government has approved plans for sale.

Last month, the office of the Commissioner planned about a quarter of 1300 brown bears in response to some recent fatal meetings.

State murder is criticized by environmentalists and opposition politicians, including the European Parliament. The brown bear is included in the list of “close threats” in the EU World Union.

However, the government of Slovakia is preparing the plan with the plan, and this week announced that the meat from the killed bears will be sold to the society to prevent waste.

From next week, Organizations under the Ministry of Environment may offer meat for sale, subject to all legal and hygienic conditions.

State Minister Philip Kufi said it was a waste that animals had previously been sent to the carcass.

“We will release every gun that meets certain consumption conditions. Why? Because the bear meat is edible,” he said.

The bears became a political problem in Slovakia after the number of meetings with people, including deadly attacks.

Slovakia ranks second in Europe, behind Romania, which estimated about 13,000 brown bears, for the number of attacks.

In 2000-2020, the country reported 54 bear attacks. The average number of attacks has also increased to 10 a year, according to rough figures.

In April, the man was killed to death while walking through the forest in Central Slovakia.

Soon Prime Minister Robert Fika announced, saying: “We cannot live in a country where people are afraid to go to the forest.”

He said his government would shoot up to 350 brown bears – a figure equivalent to the entire population in Spain.

His government claims that the problem of the bear’s overpopulation has led to the attacks.

However, environmental groups and critics say the focus should be on prevention.

Michal Viyazik, ecologist and deputy of the opposition party of progressive Slovakia, said BBC last month that government plan was “inappropriate” And this was no longer able to limit the number of attacks “unprecedented disruption of this protective species.”

Viozik claimed that thousands of meetings were held without incidents a year, and he hoped the European Commission was interfering.

Miroslav Abelov from Greenpia Slovakia called the plan of the appeal “fully ill -advised”, accusing the government of ignoring the laws on compliance and scientific parades.

Brown bears are strictly protected in accordance with EU directives and can only be killed in exceptional cases – such as public safety threats – if there are no other alternatives.

Bear meat is not usually used in Europe and is considered a delicacy in only a few regions such as parts of Eastern Europe and northern countries.

In most EU member states, strict hunting rules and protected bears status mean that meat is rarely available. If so, it is usually of controlled clicks or licensed hunting and is not usually found in restaurants and shops.

Where the bear meat consumed, health officials warn the risk of trichinella, a parasite that can cause serious illness in humans.

The regulation of the safety of the European Union demands that the whole bear be checked for trichinella larvae before it can be sold, and the US Disease Prevention Center provides an internally cooked temperature of at least 70 degrees to kill the parasite. Freezing, smoking or drying meat does not make it safe.