BRATISLAVA (Slovakia), May 28 (Bernama-dpa) – Slovakia’s opposition has criticised plans to use meat from hunted brown bears for human consumption, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
On Tuesday, opposition politician Tamara Stohlova was reported by TASR news agency of accusing the Environment Ministry of turning into a “butcher’s shop”.
Stohlova made the remarks following a Monday announcement by Environment State Secretary Filip Kuffa, who said that meat from legally hunted bears will no longer be discarded, but instead put to use as food.
“Any animal that is killed and meets certain conditions will be released for consumption. Why? Because bear meat is edible,” Kuffa wrote on Facebook.
Sub-agencies of the Environment Ministry have already begun issuing licences allowing resale to food service businesses, according to Kuffa, with traders required to prove the animals were legally hunted.
According to official figures, Slovakia is home to around 1,200 wild brown bears, which are protected and may only be hunted if they pose a threat to humans.
In recent years, there have been multiple bear-human encounters, some of them fatal. On Saturday, a 49-year-old man was seriously injured by a bear on company property.
Under pressure from hunters and local politicians, the government in Bratislava decided in April to allow the culling of up to 350 so-called problem bears.
However, with support from the army, only 23 have been culled so far, Kuffa said following Saturday’s incident.
Kuffa among the most vehement supporters of the controversial culling plans.
— BERNAMA-dpa