Romania announces ban on trophy hunting of bears, wolves and wildcats
▻https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/romania-announces-ban-on-trophy-hunting-of-bears-wolves-and-wildcats
Following protests by environmental groups, the Ministry of Environment announced that it had cancelled an order that would have allowed trophy hunting of about 1,700 wild animals this year. This decision could give populations of large carnivores a chance to recover, the Guardian reported.
All large carnivores are strictly protected in the European Union. But a loophole in the European law allows thousands of Romania’s wild animals — which are often blamed for damaging crops, property or human life — to be hunted for sport every year. Consequently, hunting in Romania has grown into a multimillion-euro industry that has “harvested” about 2,374 bears, 1,586 wolves and 898 wild cats between 2007 and 2015. Hunters pay up to 10,000 euro (~$11,000) to claim their prize.