Slovakia approves the sale of brown bear meat in public

Brown bear meat, an EU protected species, may soon be available for eating in Slovakia after the populist government has approved plans for sale.

Last month, the cabinet authorized a plan to capture about a quarter of the country’s 1300 brown bears in response to some recent fatal meetings.

The state authorized slaughter was criticized by environmentalists and opposition politicians, including in the European Parliament. The brown bear is referred to as a “almost threatened” appearance in the EU by the World Conservation Union.

However, the Slovak government is progressing with the plan and this week announced that the meat from torn bears would be sold to the public to prevent waste.

From next week, Organizations within the Ministry of Environment may offer meat for sale, provided that all legal and hygiene conditions are fulfilled.

State Minister Philip Slip said it was wasteful that the animals had previously been sent to corpse disposal facilities.

“We will release any firing animal that meets certain conditions for consumption. Why? Because the bear meat is edible,” he said.

Bears have become a political issue in Slovakia after a growing number of meetings with people, including fatal attacks.

Slovakia ranks second in Europe, after Romania, which is believed to have about 13,000 brown bears for the number of attacks.

The country reported a total of 54 bears from 2000-2020. The average number of attacks has also increased to 10 years, according to rough numbers.

In April, a man was lowered to death while walking in a forest in Central Slovakia.

Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced Cull, saying, “We can’t live in a country where people are afraid to enter the forest.”

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

His government claims that the problem of bear overcrowding has led to attacks.

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

Michal Vizic, Ecologist and MEP for the progressive Slovakia of the opposition party, told the BBC last month that the government’s plan was “absurd” And he had no longer managed to limit the number of attacks, “from the unprecedented weaning of this protective species.”

Wiezik claims that thousands of meetings have traveled without incidents for one year and he hopes the European Commission will intervene.

Miroslava Abelova of Greenpeies Slovakia called the cutting plan “completely reckless”, accusing the government of ignoring laws on conservation and scientific advice.

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

Meat meat is not often eaten in Europe and is considered a delicacy in only several regions, such as parts of Eastern Europe and northern countries.

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

When consuming bear meat is consumed, health officials warn of the risk of trichinella, a parasite that can cause serious illnesses in humans.

The Food Safety Regulation in the European Union requires all bears to be tested for the Trichinella larvae before it can be sold, and the center to prevent the fight from combating the disease provides for an internally prepared temperature of at least 70 degrees Centrigrad to kill the parasite. Freezing, smoking or drying the meat does not make it safe.