Lalio Bichev from Kalofer is accused of poisoning the vultures in the Central Balkan National Park. He confessed to the police as the perpetrator, but denied it in court.
The media claim that he is a firefighter and raises several cows and horses. There is no information whether the animals are registered, but he certainly did not receive benefits for them.
His name is missing from the orders for the distribution of pastures in the park. If he put animals on pasture, it was illegal and on pasture rented from someone else. This other person knew that in addition to his animals, there were also strangers on the pasture. It is unclear whether the park was notified.
If a bear kills a cattle that does not have a permit to graze in the park, the state does not compensate for the loss. Otherwise, it is paid at market prices.
Again, we learn from the media that there was a witness to the poisoning. I hope that information about the poison did not reach the park employees, otherwise the dead cattle should not have been left there.
The series of illegal actions and the spread of knowledge about them tells me that they have happened frequently before. We found out about the case because the bearded vulture was wearing a GPS transmitter. If it was not there, the likelihood of it being found out was close to zero.
Currently, further changes are being proposed in the Penal Code related to the criminalization of poisoning. I do not think that this follows from this case, because there is a penalty in the code for killing vultures. There are other solutions and we need to hear from the Ministry of Environment and Water what they propose.
Yesterday, a cattle farmer from Karlovo wrote to me that if we stop cattle grazing in the park, he will poison all the bears and vultures. I also saw comments that poisoning bears is acceptable in the groups of Kalofer and Karlovo. Apparently Bichev is not the only one who does it or is ready to do it.
By the way, the state supported this cattle farmer from Karlovo last year with 40 thousand euros (as much as the annual salary of three resident doctors). And this is one of the smaller grants. Cattle farmers grazing in the park received an average of 66,000 euros in grants for 2025, with some reaching 180 thousand.
The lack of respect for life is striking. And from people who are paid by society. Because if he is a firefighter, Bichev must be an employee of the Ministry of Interior. In this case of poisoning, there are many people involved and everyone is paid or supported generously from the budget. Apparently there are many things wrong with the system.
I would like to point out again that if there are no changes in the laws and there are no real and severe consequences for anyone who violates or knows about the violations, we will simply wait for the next poisoning. I am waiting for the official proposals of the Ministry of Environment and Water, because it is their obligation.