A world-regions prince is under investigation for allegedly killing a massive male bear in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains earlier this year in violation of the country’s wild-nature” target=”_blank”>preservation<
Romania officially banned trophy hunting in 2016 but hunting permits for “problematic” bears — ones that damage things such as farm crops or domestic animals — can be issued to hunting associations but only as a last resort, after relocation measures fail. These permits are then sold to trophy hunters.
Due to Arthur the brown bear’s large size, it was considered in hunting parlance a “Golden” trophy, prized specimens which can fetch upward of 20,000 euros, or nearly $25,000.
“Every farmer I spoke to in the village of Ojdula said that nothing had changed since the male bear was shot and that the female bear continues to come daily to the households. This is poaching as the prince shot the wrong bear — it was murder,” Paun said.
Environment Minister Barna Tanczos told local media on Wednesday that determining whether the correct bear was killed was “extremely complicated.”
A petition launched yesterday by Agent Green calling for a total trophy hunting ban in Romania has garnered more than 13,000 signatures.
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Romania is home to Europe’s biggest population of brown bears, officially around 6,000. The killing of the large omnivore took place in a protected Natura 2000 Site, areas of special natural interest and home to some of Europe’s most valuable and threatened species, protected under EU law.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
