The species is protected in the territory of the European Union. But, in the face of recent episodes with animaithat resulted in the death of several people, the Slovak government wants to slaughter a quarter of the bear population and sell meat as food.
The government of Slovakia approved a proposal to authorize the sale and consumption of brown bears, a species protected in .
“We will release for consumption all the slaughtered animals that comply with certain conditions. Why? Because the bear meat is edible,” said Filip Kuffamember of the Slovak Government, .
Recently, there were some Episodes of fatal encounters between these animals and humans in Slovical Territory – An estimated average of 10 per year. O Slovakian government is riding these cases to attack the speciesspeaking in a overpopulation problem.
The species – already extinct in Portugal, for example – will have about 1300 specimens in Slovakia.
The position of the Slovak government has generated much criticism between opposition and even in the European parliament. Conservationists claim that the focus should not be on the slaughter of animals, but in the prevention of attacks.
According to European Union directivesos brown bears can only be killed In exceptional casesas threats to public safety, and When there is no other alternative.
O Bear meat consumption can also pose risks to human health “And it’s not enough to freeze her, dry it or smoke it so that it becomes safe to eat it.” A regulation of food security of the European Union requires that all bear meat be tested in relation to the presence of Trichinella – worms that parasitize the gut and mammal muscless and that can cause severe disease to humans.
