The Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Emilia Toncheva, the Director of the Rila National Park Krasimir Andonov, the Director of RIEW - Blagoevgrad Angel Georgiev and an expert from the National Service for Nature Protection at the MOEW visited the site of the accident over the town of Belitsa, whereby a brown bear attacked a woman early this morning.

The signal was received in the early hours of the day by the director of the RIEW in the city from the regional governor of Blagoevgrad. According to the initial information, a group of about 4 people went out to pick mushrooms in the “Adrianov Chark” area in the region of Belitsa, where the incident occurred. First aid to the injured woman was provided by employees of the Dancing Bear Park, which is located in this area.

The site was inspected jointly with representatives of the State Forestry and the Municipality of Belitsa. According to the experts, the most likely cause for the attack is that the bear was frightened by the humans. The incident was probably accidental. The place where the bear spent the night was found - it was probably a temporary shelter. The contact occurred due to an unintentionally shortened distance between the victim and the animal.

The Mayor of Belitsa Radoslav Revanski has applied to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry for a shooting permit. This measure is legally regulated and applied in the event of such an incident. “The competent entity to issue the Permit is the Ministry of Agriculture and Food,” said Deputy Minister Toncheva.

The representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Water agreed with Mayor Revanski on the follow-up actions for prevention. At the emergency meeting in the Municipality of Belitsa, which was also attended by the regional governor of Blagoevgrad Nikolay Shushkov, it was decided to hold a meeting with local residents on Monday at 11a.m. to inform them about the causes of the incident. “Clarifications will be made about actions and appropriate behavior by humans towards specimes of the brown bear species,” said Deputy Minister Toncheva. According to the Director of the Rila Park Krasimir Andonov, the meeting with local people will include representatives of the Municipality of Belitsa, the Rila Park, and RIEW - Blagoevgrad.

The brown bear is a protected species under the Biodiversity Act. The European Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43) requires strict protection of the species, which is also included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).