Environment minister Diana Buzoianu announced plans to toughen penalties for individuals who feed wild bears from their cars, following growing concerns over human-wildlife interactions along the scenic Transf\u0103g\u0103r\u0103\u0219an road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking on Wednesday, July 9, at a meeting convened at the Ministry of Environment, Buzoianu emphasized the urgency of curbing illegal bear feeding, which she said endangers both people and animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to send a clear message: feeding bears illegally puts lives at risk,\u201d Buzoianu stated, according to a ministry press release<\/a>. \u201cWe will amend the legislation and increase the fines for those who feed bears along the roads.\u201d<\/p>\n The minister\u2019s comments came during a session aimed at coordinating efforts to manage the bear situation in the Transf\u0103g\u0103r\u0103\u0219an region. The meeting brought together officials from the National Forest Administration \u2013 Romsilva, Arge\u0219 Forest Directorate, the National and Ploie\u0219ti Forest Guards, the National Environmental Guard, as well as local mayors and the Arge\u0219 County prefect.<\/p>\n The meeting was held as authorities in Arge\u0219 have launched efforts to capture and relocate three orphaned bear cubs<\/a>, whose mother fatally attacked a motorcyclist on the Transf\u0103g\u0103r\u0103\u0219an<\/a> last week before being shot by local officials. The cubs have not yet been located, and the environment minister said non-profits should be allowed to assist authorities in tracking and rescuing the bear cubs.<\/p>\n The Arge\u0219 Forest Directorate has implemented several measures to aid in the search, including 24\/7 monitoring of the area, installation of real-time surveillance cameras, provision of supplemental food, mixed patrols with the gendarmerie, and equipping field teams with tranquilizer weapons. Seven employees are currently deployed on the ground in search of the missing cubs.<\/p>\n The minister also called for joint field inspections along the Transf\u0103g\u0103r\u0103\u0219an to fine individuals violating laws by feeding wild animals or stopping to take photographs.<\/p>\n Bear sightings are common on the Transf\u0103g\u0103r\u0103\u0219an, especially as the animals got used to tourists giving them food, despite the authorities\u2019 repeated calls to avoid any contact with the wild animals and the risk of being fined for doing so. This sometimes resulted in tourists being injured or even killed by the bears they stopped to photograph or feed. Moreover, specialists have repeatedly warned that this situation also changes the animals\u2019 behavior, as they get used to receiving food from humans, which in turn can be dangerous for their survival in the wild.<\/p>\n irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n (Photo source: Mmediu.ro)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Environment minister Diana Buzoianu announced plans to toughen penalties for individuals who feed wild bears from their cars, following growing concerns over human-wildlife interactions along the scenic Transf\u0103g\u0103r\u0103\u0219an road.\u00a0 Speaking on Wednesday, July 9, at a meeting convened at the Ministry of Environment, Buzoianu emphasized the urgency of curbing illegal bear feeding, which she said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5838\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}