Brown bear (Ursus arctos), Choč Mouintains, Slovakia, Photocredit: © Tomas Hulik
Slovakia’s environment ministry has authorised the killing of 240 brown bears without knowing how many there are in the first place. Conservation groups My sme les, Aevis and WWF Slovakia have called on environment minister Tomáš Taraba to halt bear culls until reliable population data are available, saying that monitoring must underpin any policy decisions on managing the species.
“That omission risks eroding the species’ favourable conservation status while doing little to reduce human–bear conflicts”, warns Katarína Butkovská of WWF Slovakia.
The environment ministry has promised a DNA study of Slovakia’s brown bears, but with no details on its methodology or who will carry it out — and results due only after the cull. Scientists and conservationists see little comfort in counting corpses first and bears later.
Slovak media in recent days have reported on bear attacks near Stanišovská Cave and close to the village of Hybe. After analysing data on killed bears, My sme les found that since 2024 at least 48 animals have died in the wider area of the two attack sites. Of these, 28 were shot by the intervention team and local hunters, while another 20 perished in traffic collisions and other incidents. “It is clear from this that even the killing of nearly fifty bears in an area of roughly 200 km² did not prevent two attacks that left men needing medical treatment,” emphasises Michal Haring of My sme les.
Experts stress that conflicts with bears are best reduced through prevention rather than culling. Measures include reconnecting migration routes with wildlife corridors, securing waste so it does not attract animals, protecting livestock and beehives with electric fencing, and educating the public in areas where bears roam. These tools are proven and effective, but the state continues to neglect them — relying instead on the rifle.
“We call on Minister Tomáš Taraba to immediately stop issuing permits for the shooting of bears as reckless killing of bears clearly does not improve the situation,” says Rastislav Mičaník of Aevis.
