Romanian Senate quietly doubles quota of bears to be shot this year
Almost 900 bears could be shot this in Romania after the Senate approved the initiative authored by the Hungarian minority party UDRM that doubles the intervention quota. The initiative was adopted on Wednesday, March 19, with 69 votes “for,” 10 “against,” 17 abstentions, and one senator not voting.
The approval was announced by former environment minister, currently deputy prime minister, Tanczos Barna. The normative act provides for the annual harvest of a number of 859 brown bears.
The final approval will be given by the Chamber of Deputies.
“At the initiative of UDMR, the Senate voted to double the harvest quota for managing the brown bear population. The genetic assessment completed last year confirmed what we have been consistently signaling in recent years: the dangerous overpopulation of bears, the expansion of their habitat, and the need for preventive interventions,” the official said in a post on Facebook.
The higher quota aims to keep the bear population under control and protect human life and agricultural activities, according to the minister, who is part of UDMR.
In 2025, the Ministry of Environment analyzed over 24,000 genetic samples from 25 counties and claimed that Romania is home to between 10,419 and 12,770 brown bears. The county is famous for its bears, who are common in mountain areas, including popular destinations such as the Transfăgărășan road. The close proximity, however, led to dangerous encounters.
In 2024, Romania doubled the hunting quota for the brown bear to almost 500 following the deadly attack on a hiker in the Carpathians. Earlier this year, the country also announced a project to build thousands of kilometers of electric fencing to keep bears out of populated areas.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos | George Calin)
