The "Millions of Friends" Association is grieving after the killing of the bear cub, hunted in Sibiu. The cub was followed by dozens of policemen and gendarmes, while trying to escape. The authorities announced that they had tried in vain to tranquilize the bear and the journalists from Sibiu published a film of the bear being killed.
“In the movie, we can see how the bear was trying to climb the fence in the backyard where it was surrounded. Without any sounds generated by any tranquilizer rifle, the bear is shot after climbing on a flower pot, in an attempt to jump over the fence", wrote the journalists from Turnul Sfatului.
You may watch the film on Andrei Piloiu's Facebook profile.
"What happened in Sibiu is a crime! Killing a 6-8 months old bear, as that was his age – is like killing a child who is playing with a water gun. Anybody watching the news may see that the bear was frightened, hunted and the overreaction of the authorities. Everyone around him was shouting, yelling and the authorities would have expected that the poor animal sat quietly in a corner and possibly surrender? Like a criminal? It's normal to react by running away. He did not react violently at any moment. He passed through areas with schools, but did not attack. He ran scared. The authorities either did not know how to react and lost their temper, or they were ill willed. Both cases are equally serious. Maybe there should be a briefing for those who are entitled to act in such cases, not panic easily and be able to think and act normally. Perhaps it would be appropriate to learn something about the behavior of certain animals, especially those we interact with, unfortunately, more often lately. And that's all the fault of the people", said Cristina Lapis, president of the Millions of Friends Association.
Romania is a signatory of the Bern Convention, prohibiting the shooting of protected animals, which includes bear. "For such special cases, there is a committee at the Ministry of Environment, the only one that can decide. The local authorities did not have this decision! The bear did not attack anybody! The bear would not have been able to do this! The authorities in Sibiu must understand that their mission should have been to protect him, not kill him“, said Cristina Lapis.
Look how "dangerous" a cub like the one that was shot in Sibiu can be
Antena 1 journalists wanted to find out how dangerous such bears may be for humans and decided to visit the cubs rescued by AMP in February 2016
„We made an experiment. Some journalists asked us for the permission to record the bear cubs, the same age with the cub shot in Sibiu, to see that no one gets hurt. These cubs are just playing", said Cristina Lapis.
