Slovakia has allowed the sale of brown bear meat to the population

The meat of brown bears, which are protected in the EU, may soon be available for consumption in Slovakia. The government recently approved a decision on its sale to the public.

This is reported by UNN with reference to the BBC.

Details

As the publication reminds, last month the Cabinet of Ministers approved a plan to shoot about a quarter of the country's 1,300 brown bears due to incidents with predator attacks. The state-sanctioned killing of animals was criticized by environmentalists and opposition politicians, including in the European Parliament.

The fact is that the brown bear is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in the EU. However, the Slovak government continues to implement the plan and this week, the publication emphasizes, announced that the meat of the killed bears will be sold to the public in order to "prevent waste".

From next week, organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Environment may offer meat for sale, subject to compliance with all legal and hygienic conditions, the publication says.

State Minister Filip Kuffa said that the fact that the animals were previously sent to carcass disposal facilities was a waste.

We will release every shot animal that meets certain conditions for consumption. Why? Because bear meat is edible

Background

Slovakia ranks second in Europe in the number of brown bear attacks, second only to Romania, which is estimated to have about 13,000 brown bears. From 2000 to 2020, 54 bear attacks were recorded in the country.

According to approximate data, the average number of attacks has increased to 10 per year.

In April this year, a man died in a bear attack while walking through the forest in Central Slovakia. Shortly after, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced the shooting of predators, adding:

We cannot live in a country where people are afraid to go to the forest

He stated that his government would shoot up to 350 brown bears. For example, this is the number equivalent to the entire population of the species in Spain.

Animal advocates protested

 However, environmental groups and critics say that the focus should be on prevention. Michal Wiezik, an environmentalist and Member of the European Parliament from the opposition Progressive Slovakia party, told the BBC last month that the government's plan was "absurd" and that reducing the number of attacks "by unprecedented destruction of this protected species" was unacceptable.

Wiezik argues that thousands of encounters with bears a year passed without incident. He added that he hoped the European Commission would intervene.

Miroslava Abelova from Greenpeace Slovakia called the extermination plan "absolutely reckless", accusing the government of ignoring nature conservation laws and scientific recommendations.

Brown bears are strictly protected by EU directives and can only be killed in exceptional cases, such as a threat to public safety, when there are no other alternatives.

 Let's add

Bear meat is considered a delicacy in only a few regions, such as parts of Eastern Europe and Nordic countries. Most EU member states have strict hunting regulations, and bears have protected status, so their meat is rarely available and not often found in restaurants or stores. If it is, it is usually from controlled slaughter or licensed hunting.

Where bear meat is consumed, medical professionals warn of the risk of trichinella infection, a parasite that can cause serious illness in humans. According to European Union food safety regulations, all bear meat must be tested for Trichinella larvae before being sold. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires internal heat treatment at a temperature of at least 70 degrees Celsius to kill the parasite.

Freezing, smoking, or drying the meat does not make it safe.

Let us remind you

UNN wrote that a state of emergency due to the appearance of bears in 55 districts of the Slovak Republic. The government of the country decided to send dozens of professional soldiers, whose task will be to track, observe and, if necessary, kill predators.