Free Voters: Special unit to protect Bavaria from bears
A Bavarian armed bear readiness should reportedly ensure law and order in forests and woods in the future, according to the wish of a Bavarian district administrator. This idea has met cautious excitement at the Environmental Ministry in Munich. "It's important that we can react quickly in case of an emergency according to the existing legal framework," said a ministry spokesperson. "In case of an emergency, all measures are on the table. That includes shooting." The letter with the demands of the Upper Allgäu district administrator Indra Baier-Müller is still being reviewed.
The municipal politician of the Free Voters in Bavaria demanded in the letter to her party friend, Bavaria's Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber, the founding of an armed Bavarian bear readiness. The unit should be responsible for preventing and killing bears when necessary, suggested the district administrator. Baier-Müller had founded the initiative Brown Bear a year ago due to a series of bear sightings in Southern Bavaria, to network the responsible parties in the Alpine regions of Bavaria.
However, the Environmental Ministry emphasized that, according to the experts of the Bavarian State Office for the Environment, it is not to be expected that bears will permanently settle in Bavaria. "There is currently no evidence of a bear in Bavaria," said a ministry spokesperson. In the current situation, it goes mainly about observation, information, and prevention, to avoid cattle maiming.
The last bears seen in Bavaria are believed to have come from Northern Italy and temporarily wandered into the Free State via Austria. In the Italian province of Trentino, there are now approximately 100 brown bears due to a reintroduction project.
Role Model Italy?
It has been legal in the Trentino region of Italy since March to shoot up to eight bears annually if they have become dangerous. Animal rights activists are outraged. Previously, there were high bureaucratic hurdles for the shooting of the animals.
In Slovakia, estimates suggest that around 1,300 brown bears live. Intervention teams are deployed when there are dangerous encounters between humans and bears. The focus is on education and prevention, such as ensuring that trash cans are closed to prevent bears from being attracted to houses. If bears have lost their fear, euthanasia may be necessary. The teams are subordinate to the Environment Ministry.
In the Czech Republic, only a few brown bears are estimated to live in the Beskids mountain range in the eastern part of the country. Brown bears have been extinct in the Bohemian Forest along the border with Bavaria since the 19th century.
The proposal for an armed bear unit in Bavaria, as suggested by District Administrator Indra Baier-Müller, has drawn comparisons to Italy's approach to bear management, where lethal measures are used in certain circumstances due to legal provisions. Despite the trend in Italy and other countries, the Bavarian Environmental Ministry maintains that bear sightings are temporary and not indicative of a permanent settlement, focusing instead on observation, information, and prevention to avoid harm to livestock.
