Farmers and beekeepers are reporting increased attacks by bears and feel powerless to protect themselves, because the brown bear is a protected species and shooting the animal is a complex procedure that requires personal permission from a minister. At the same time, the Ministry of Environment and Waters announced that for the first time in Bulgaria a project for DNA monitoring of the brown bear will be implemented, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.
Since the beginning of the year, the Regional Environmental Inspectorate in Veliko Tarnovo, which is also responsible for the Gabrovo region, has received 5 reports of damage caused by brown bears to apiaries in the lands of the villages of Stokite and Kravenik in the Sevlievo municipality. Two of the reports are for a repeat attack, as the owners did not take preventive measures, the environmental inspectorate said, specifying that the properties have electric fences, but they were not working.
One of these properties belongs to Tanya Minkova. Two weeks ago, in the village of Stokite, a bear destroyed 9 of her 12 beehives. There were three attacks on my apiary, Minkova told BNR:
"My house is in a settlement, in the center of the village, on the main road to Apriltsi. I called 112. They came from the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water of Veliko Tarnovo to describe the damage. In the evening, the bear came again. It was not a very large brown bear. In the morning, my neighbor called me that the beehives had been demolished again. During the day, the bear had been there again. I called 112 again and the next day the inspectors from the Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Forestry appeared again.
The brown bear is a species with the highest protection in Bulgaria and in Europe. According to the EU Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Flora and Fauna, the brown bear species is under strict protection. This requirement was introduced in Bulgaria by listing the species in Annex No. 3 of the Biodiversity Act in 2002.
"It has been under monitoring for more than 15 years. What is happening, how many bears are there, how are they counted?! The Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Forestry told me that my house is in the bear's habitat. There are other victims. In the neighboring village of Kravenik, the mayor reported that a bear gave birth to three cubs in an uninhabited house," says Tanya Minkova, whose bees were destroyed.
Since 2007 Farmers who have suffered damage to their animals and apiaries from a bear can claim compensation from the Regional Environmental Inspectorates on site. An inter-institutional commission visits the site and establishes the damage, which is paid at published market prices. This was also done with Tanya Minkova's apiary. The Environmental Inspectorate informed BNR that its documents are about to be sent to the Ministry of Ecology for payment of compensation.
The compensation is not market-based, says Tanya Minkova, who was left without hives due to an attack by a bear or bears.
"Last year, the apiary was attacked again. The compensation from the Regional Environmental Inspectorate was 120 leva per bee colony. I was looking to buy a bee colony at the moment, and they asked me for 280 leva. Not to mention the broken beehives, no one considers them as damage".
Last week, a meeting was held in Gabrovo after the increasing cases of bear attacks in the villages of Sevlievo, including Stokite. According to environmentalists from "Green Balkans", there can be no talk of an increase in the brown bear population, but at the same time it turns out that a real and comprehensive census of bears has not been conducted in our country.
Urgent measures are needed from the institutions, Tanya Minkova is categorical:
"I call on these people to use all legal means, because the tourist season is coming, and the Balkans is full of guest houses. Is this what we are going to wait for – the bear to kill a child, a person or a tourist, in order to activate the cumbersome state machine?"
Last week, the Ministry of Environment and Water announced that a two-year project for DNA monitoring of brown bears is starting, and it will be done for the first time in Bulgaria. The money for this is provided by Europe under the "Environment" program. The goal is to know how many brown bears there are in Bulgaria. The Executive Agency for the Environment (EEA), forestry enterprises and national parks will be involved. The DNA tests will be carried out in Slovenia, the ministry said. The samples will be collected from excrement. The people who will collect the excrement and prepare the samples are undergoing training in Slovenia.
There has been a special rapid response group in the Rhodope Mountains for about ten years, which responds to signals of damage caused and assists local people. The group is made up of local residents, veterinarians who are trained in identifying bear damage and possible measures to be taken, the environmental ministry said.