Environmental campaigners suspect a Liechtenstein prince shot dead probably the biggest bear alive in the EU on a hunting expedition in Romania in March. They say Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein had been granted a permit to shoot a female bear that had caused damage to some farms.
Austrian Prince Accused Of Poaching Romania s Largest Bear
May 05, 2021 13:45 GMT
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Environmental activists say an Austrian hunter has killed Romania s largest bear for a 7,000-euro ($8,400) fee in what they say amounted to poaching.
Arthur, a 17-year-old male brown bear, was killed in Romania s central Covasna County last month by Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein, Romania s Agent Green nongovernmental organization said in a
statement on May 5.
Agent Green chief Gabriel Paun said the 32-year-old Austrian shot Arthur after the Environment Ministry gave special approval for the shooting of a female bear with cubs following a farmer s complaint that the animal had caused extended and repeated damage to crops in the area.
In March, one such individual, Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein, an Austrian prince, claimed Arthur’s scalp, paying a reported 7,000 euros for the privilege.
According to Agent Green, a Romanian NGO which campaigns to preserve the country’s natural environment, Prince Liechtenstein took part in a hunting trip that was ostensibly arranged to find and kill a female bear believed to be responsible for damage caused to farms in the village of Ojdula, in Covasna county in central Romania.
Despite the ban on hunting bears, exceptions are occasionally granted for the sake of controlling the bear population, and to deal with bears that are perceived to pose a threat to human life.