Feeding bears will be punishable by fines ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 lei under an emergency ordinance the Government adopted on Thursday.

The legislation introduces definitions for 'bear feeding' and 'habituated bear,' Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu said during a press conference held on Thursday at Victoria Palace.

In cases where a bear-human incident occurs within a built-up area, the Committee for Emergency Situations will be able to decide on the necessary interventions without being bound by the condition of gradual response.

Buzoianu stated that the Government is thus seeking a 'balanced' solution to a problem Romania has faced for several years, underlining the importance of protecting biodiversity as well as ensuring citizens' safety.

'The law we proposed today is a compromise solution, in that we will continue to apply the principle of gradual response outside built-up areas. However, when a bear enters a built-up area, where there is a high population density and an obvious risk of a bear-human incident, we will remove the condition of gradual response, allowing the Committee for Emergency Situations that convenes to decide whether the intervention should involve scaring the bear away, relocating it or shooting it,' she explained.

Meetings of the Committee for Emergency Situations will also be possible through electronic means, allowing consultations to take place even when all members cannot be physically present at the incident site.

The Local Police will also be able to take part in the committee, stepping in when a representative of the Gendarmerie is unavailable.

'When Gendarmerie representatives are not nearby - as we have had cases where it took an hour or two for them to arrive - by then the intervention is already pointless. Therefore, for public safety, we have proposed that this position on the committee may be filled by a Local Police representative, so that they can intervene in the committee,' she added.

Buzoianu also announced that by the end of November, the results of a study on Romania's bear population and its distribution across the country will be presented. This will make it possible to set scientifically based intervention quotas, the Environment minister pointed out.

'Regarding quotas, which are not covered by this emergency ordinance, at the end of November we will have a study conducted by research institutes, for which Romania has paid several million euros. This study is based on DNA samples collected over the past few years - at least the last two years. It will also include an official map dividing Romania into zones and identifying risk areas, based on analyses of incidents between bears and people. On this basis, the experts will propose the necessary intervention measures,' she explained.

The emergency ordinance amends the legislation on immediate intervention methods for preventing and combating bear attacks on people and their property, as well as on the amendment and supplementation of certain related normative acts. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Irinela Visan; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)