Environmental activists have accused a prince from Liechtenstein's royal family of shooting and killing Romania's biggest bear in violation of a ban on large carnivore trophy hunting.
Arthur the Bear Dead
In a statement, the Romanian NGO Agent Green and the Austrian NGO VGT said that Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein shot a bear named Arthur in a protected area of the Carpathian Mountains in March.
Special Permission
According to the NGOs, the Romanian environment ministry gave the prince. He lives in Riegersburg, Austria, with special permission to shoot a female bear that was causing damage to farms in Ojdula.
"In fact, the prince killed a male bear who lived deep in the woods and had never come close to human settlements," the NGOs say. "The bear called Arthur was identified as a wild specimen not accustomed to the man's presence and the food supplies he provided for many years by the Agent Green ranger in the area."
Four-Day-Hunt
The Associated Press announced that it had seen official hunting records confirming that Prince Emanuel was given a four-day hunting permit in Covasna County in March. On March 13, he "harvested" a 17-year-old brown bear for €7,000 (£6,040).
Arthur the Bear
Arthur was 17 years old, according to Gabriel Paun, president of Agent Green, and was the largest bear ever seen in Romania and likely the largest in the European Union.
"I wonder how the prince could mistake a female bear visiting the village with the largest male that lived deep in the forest," Paun noted, adding that he believed it was "clear that the prince did not come to solve the issue of the locals but to kill the bear and take home the biggest trophy to hang it on the wall... they shot the wrong bear."
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Brown Bear Protection
Brown bears are protected under international and Romanian rule, and trophy hunting was banned in 2016. As provided by the environment minister, exceptions have been given by subsequent administrations in the case of bears who have suffered significant harm or have posed a danger to humans.
Trophy Hunting
"Trophy hunting must be banned [with no exceptions], "said Ann-Kathrin Freude, campaign organizer for VGT. Otherwise, as has occurred in much of Europe, tensions will intensify, and the ecosystem will become extinct. It is a disgrace to Austria that Prince Emanuel used a derogation to murder this lovely bear."
Tánczos Barna, Romania's environment minister, told Digi24 that deciding if the bear killed by the prince was the one protected by the derogation was "particularly difficult," but that an investigation had been initiated.
Reaching the Prince
Attempts to reach the prince's estate were futile, according to the Associated Press. According to the Blick newspaper in Switzerland, the prince said he would not comment on the issue.
Tánczos Barna, Romania's environment minister, told Digi24 that deciding if the bear killed by the prince was the one protected by the derogation was "particularly difficult," but that an investigation had been initiated.
"The bear faces many challenges to its life, including habitat loss, climate change, and human persecution," Freude said. The Ministry of the Environment must discuss the reasons, not the consequences, of the bear-man conflict."
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