Law no. 242 of July 23, 2024.
Country
Type of law
Legislation
Abstract
This Law establishes the rules for the management of the brown bear population within the Romanian national territory, primarily focusing on the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict and the protection of public safety through a regulated system of population control. The Law introduces a dual-quota management structure consisting of a prevention level and an intervention level. For the 2024–2025 period, the prevention level authorizes the proactive harvesting of 426 specimens by licensed hunters under the supervision of specialized technical personnel to reduce population density in high-risk areas. Complementing this, the intervention level provides a reserved allocation of 55 specimens for the immediate extraction of individuals that exhibit aggressive behavior or cause persistent damage to human settlements, as governed by the operational procedures of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 81/2021.
To maintain ecological integrity and genetic health, the Law enforces strict conservation guardrails by specifically prohibiting the harvesting of females with cubs under two years of age and dominant specimens, which are defined as those with pelts exceeding 400 C.I.C. points. Any specimens exceeding this trophy threshold are designated as state property to discourage trophy hunting. Furthermore, the Law mandates a science-based approach to future wildlife policy by requiring the collection of biological and genetic samples from all harvested specimens. This data is integrated into a national database managed by the Marin Drăcea National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry, serving as the evidentiary basis for biennial population studies and the calculation of subsequent annual quotas starting in 2026.
The administrative framework of the Law further delineates the financial and procedural responsibilities of hunting ground managers, who are required to pay specific fees to the state budget for each harvested specimen based on the standardized measurement of the animal's skull. Beyond these fiscal obligations, the Law underscores a rigorous monitoring protocol, necessitating that every intervention be documented and validated by a multi-disciplinary commission. This ensures that the decentralized execution of the harvest remains aligned with the central government's safety and conservation objectives.
To maintain ecological integrity and genetic health, the Law enforces strict conservation guardrails by specifically prohibiting the harvesting of females with cubs under two years of age and dominant specimens, which are defined as those with pelts exceeding 400 C.I.C. points. Any specimens exceeding this trophy threshold are designated as state property to discourage trophy hunting. Furthermore, the Law mandates a science-based approach to future wildlife policy by requiring the collection of biological and genetic samples from all harvested specimens. This data is integrated into a national database managed by the Marin Drăcea National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry, serving as the evidentiary basis for biennial population studies and the calculation of subsequent annual quotas starting in 2026.
The administrative framework of the Law further delineates the financial and procedural responsibilities of hunting ground managers, who are required to pay specific fees to the state budget for each harvested specimen based on the standardized measurement of the animal's skull. Beyond these fiscal obligations, the Law underscores a rigorous monitoring protocol, necessitating that every intervention be documented and validated by a multi-disciplinary commission. This ensures that the decentralized execution of the harvest remains aligned with the central government's safety and conservation objectives.
Attached files
Web site
Long title of text
Law for the completion of Art. 1 of the Law on hunting and the protection of the hunting fund no. 407/2006, as well as for the amendment and completion of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 81/2021 regarding the approval of immediate intervention methods for the prevention and combat of brown bear attacks on persons and their property, as well as for the amendment and completion of other normative acts.
Date of text
Entry into force notes
This Law entered into force on July 23, 2024, the same day it was published in the Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial nr. 720).
Repealed
No
Serial Imprint
The Romanian Parliament.
Source language
English
Legislation Amendment
No
Original title
Lege nr. 242 din 23 iulie 2024.