French Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Nelly Olin and her Slovenian counterpart Janez Podobnik have signed an agreement on the capture and transportation of five brown bears to the Pyrenees region.
Miro Jonozovic of the National Forestry Institute meanwhile told STA that Slovenia will capture healthy bears, between three and five years of age.
Olin said that the relocation is only a part of a wider effort to create suitable cohabitation conditions between bears and the local population.
She is fully aware of the people's fears, associated with an increase of the number of these large animals in the region. That is why Olin will create a mechanism to monitor biological, economic, and social consequences of the relocation.
France asked Spain, Croatia and Slovenia to donate bears, with Slovenia being singled out as the most suitable donor due to the bears' genetic similarity, good health conditions, and simplified migration procedures within the EU.
The two countries successfully cooperated already in 1996 and 1997, when three bears were moved to the Pyrenees, which is currently home to six bears of Slovenian origin.
Meanwhile, the Environment Ministry published a regulation on culling 23 brown bears by the end of the year.
The regulation, published in Friday's Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, is in line with the national strategy on managing the brown bear population in Slovenia.
The strategy, passed in 2002, calls for a yearly culling of 5% to 10% of the estimated bear population in the country.
|
Subscribe
To receive our weekly newsletter by e-mail subscribe here.
HOME
Government | Calendar of Events | Media Room | About Slovenia
Sitemap | Contact us | About us | Graphic version | Slovensko
© Government Communication Office