Pastures with buffaloes, horses and cows are located in the immediate vicinity of eco-trails in the "Strandja" Nature Park, through which vacationers pass.
Animals can be a threat to some of the tourists along the Southern Black Sea coast who decide to use the seaside route connecting Ahtopol and Sinemorets.
A few steps separate the Ahtopol-Sinemorets coastal eco-path from the pastures with animals, some reaching the size of half a ton. The pasture is 300 acres in size, and horses, buffaloes and cows are raised in it. And large cattle are alarming.
"I am a tourist. My whole life is on the Balkans and on the seas. It's dangerous. An animal is an animal. It feels the danger, that's why I am against these works where the tourists are", commented Boris Borisov to BNT.
"I would be afraid if I saw a bull next to me," Ivanka pointed out.
We meet with the owner of the pasture, who raises cattle all year round in the area of the 5 km long eco-trail.
"The properties are private and municipal. They were hired by me - one part municipal, one part private. So I have a legal reason to be here," explained Stoyan Stoyanov, animal breeder.
"They are in three zones. They are not along the entire length of the eco-path. When placing them, we have followed the placement. There is no way they can occupy anything more than this square footage, and yet the eco-path runs close to the coast. It is exclusively state property," said Stanislav Dimitrov, mayor of Aheloy municipality.
An electric herder has been installed around the pasture, but it happens that the animals go outside the enclosures.
"There are different situations. Sometimes some unscrupulous people drive a stake, an animal comes out. I get a signal and come, bring the animals in. I don't leave them free to be outside. They are inside the enclosure," said Stoyan Stoyanov, animal breeder.
However, according to viewer signals, some animals jump over the fences, and this can lead to serious threats to tourists. But there are also violators who, passing by with their cars, break the fences.
"Since the beginning of the summer season, we have probably had about 15 reports of electric herders breaking from passing tourists and passing cars. "When the given facility is broken, the animals will of course come in the direction of Ahtopol," commented Stanislav Dimitrov. And the places designated as tourist areas must meet specific conditions.
"First of all, they must be accessible. I.e. that there should not be any obstacles around the eco-paths themselves, so that a tourist can safely cross the given section", added the mayor of Aheloy municipality.
"We have routes throughout Strandja. In the summer they are by the sea and we are happy when we see grazing animals in Strandzha. This has long been the way of life in all of Strandzha and is completely normal.
People should be considerate, have patience and be tolerant, both domestic and wild animals, because after all this is a Natural Park", commented Vladimir Dimitrov, chairman of the "Green Strand" Association.
So far, there have been no reports of incidents in the area.
Source: FOCUS