No animal of the order “Wild Cats” has been registered with the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water (RIEW) – Shumen. This was shown by the inspection’s records. Yesterday evening, the emergency line of the RIEW received a signal about a large animal seen in the “Shumen Plateau” Nature Park, upon which the director of the inspection Stella Ilieva immediately notified the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Regional Office of the Ministry of Interior in Shumen, the regional governor and the “Crimes against the Environment and Wildlife” sector at the Ministry of Interior.

“At around one o’clock in the morning, together with the law enforcement agencies, we took action to limit citizens’ access to the park,” said Stella Ilieva. RIEW – Shumen requested assistance from the Varna Zoo, i.e. to send a team of specialists to join the operation to sedate the animal, so as to guarantee the safety of people and prevent injury to the animal. Specialists from the Varna Zoo are already on site on the territory of the nature park, where the predator was spotted.

By order of the regional governor, a coordination headquarters between the relevant institutions has been established, which also includes specialists from the Shumen Municipality, the Shumen Regional Directorate and the Directorate of the Shumen Plateau Nature Park.

According to Art. 21 of the Animal Protection Act, it is prohibited to import, acquire, sell, own, and breed specimens of primates and wild cats, with the exception of zoos and rescue centers, experts from the National Animal Protection Service Directorate at the Ministry of Environment and Water explained. The term "wild cats" refers to all representatives of the Felidae family, with the exception of domestic cats with their breeds and varieties.

Large species of the feline family such as lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and cougars are dangerous to humans, they hunt large prey. The specimens raised by humans are even more dangerous, as they are not bothered by human presence and although they do not recognize it as immediate food, they can act unpredictably towards strangers. There are cases when such animals have killed their owners. These species are not subject to protection under Bulgarian legislation, because they are foreign to the country.

Due to all the listed facts and legal provisions, the Ministry of Environment and Water recommended to the law enforcement agencies to limit the access of people to the area where the animal had been seen, so that there is no danger to the health and life of visitors.