Budaj said: I know what is causing the bear problems! He wants to talk about it with Kollár – New Time

Problems with bears in Podpoľany are caused by feeding grounds and lure baits created by hunters. There are 28 baits along with four tons of feed. Minister of the Environment Ján Budaj (OĽANO) informed about it at Thursday’s press conference. He therefore called on the head of the agricultural department, Samuel Vlčan (nominated by OĽANO), to immediately stop feeding the game in Podpoľany. Budaj claims that the bear will stop eating natural food if it has feeding grounds available. “The feeding of deer and wild boar cannot be separated from the bear,” he said. The minister continues that the bears have become accustomed to feeding, they like a sweet diet and therefore move to lower areas. According to Budaja, some bears that are used to it will have to be excluded from the population. According to Budaja, blasting permits do not solve anything and support trophy hunting. It declares that all bears that show a loss of shyness or collisions with the inhabitants will be removed by the Emergency Team for the Brown State Nature Protection (SOP) SR. “Between 2015 and 2022, 53 percent of bear shots took place in Poľana,” he said. Budaj would like to find a way to regulate bears in accordance with the law. “We will find a way to make it in line with our interests,” he said. Budaj wants to meet with the Speaker of the Parliament Boris Kollár (We are a family) to solve the problem of bears together. He also wrote him a letter. Kollár welcomes the given hand of the head of the environment. “It’s a serious matter and I’m glad the minister is aware of it,” he told TASR. Kollár wants to solve the problem with bears by regulating them. According to him, the state could do it and it would not have to be shot through permits. “I don’t need to support hunting or shooting bears for fun. We have to regulate the state, the number of bears. Regulation every year,” the head of parliament said.