UPDATED TEXT
On the evening of Monday, 10 July, the SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team received a report submitted by the owner of the Háj farm, who allegedly spotted a bear repeatedly in the area of the farm. The SNC SR Intervention Team and Slovak Police officers arrived on the spot and searched the whole area, but the bear was not spotted anywhere and its presence was not even detected by the photo traps installed in the area. Media information about a second attack in the Háj farm area is therefore not true.
In order to ensure safety in the vicinity of the farm, the SNC SR Intervention Team will patrol the site today (Tuesday 11 July) and new photo traps will be installed there. At the same time, a trapping device will be placed in the area of the former cooperative agricultural enterprise where the farm is located.
FRIDAY 7 July 2023
A bear attacked a man in his twenties on a local farm in Háj municipality near Turčianske Teplice. The man sustained injuries to both his hands, for which he had to be treated in the hospital. An Intervention Team arrived at the scene and is currently searching for the bear. When found, the specimen will be put down.
“The most important thing at the moment is that the young man is out of danger. The State Nature Conservancy is doing their best to track down the problem bear,” stated Minister Milan Chrenko.
The Minister of the Environment contacted the injured man’s family and expressed his regret over the whole situation. He has also assured them of the maximum commitment of the SNC SR to find for the problem bear.
The father of the injured man told the minister that he has been seeking compensation for the damage caused by the bear to his livestock but his requests had been ignored for seven years. The Minister has initiated a probe into the action of the district authority concerned, as adequate compensation in case of damage caused by protected animals should be paid.
The Brown Bear Intervention Team was immediately deployed on the spot and is currently tracking the bear in cooperation with the local hunting association members. Residents and potential tourists are therefore asked to avoid the area these days.
