Save the Brown Bear in Croatia from trophy hunting

According to national and European laws and regulations, bears must not be caught, tortured or killed. Although the Republic of Croatia ratified the Bern Convention in 2000, and the brown bear was placed on the Red List of Endangered Species in 2004, in our country the bear is still treated as "hunting game". During the ratification of the Bern Convention, Croatia requested an exemption (derogation) from strict protection and prohibition of hunting. With this exception, hunting is still allowed if it is proven that the bear population is stable despite the shooting.

The recommendation of the Bern Convention for the Republic of Croatia was the development of a Management Plan and annual action plans. The bear is hunted in our country in accordance with the Management Plan which is based on the Hunting Act. Hunting is paradoxically approved by Article 155 of the Nature Protection Act and thus the protection of bears is subordinated to the Hunting Act. At the beginning of each year, hunting quotas are determined as well as the duration of the bear hunting season. Bear mortality from hunting is higher than from all other causes of mortality combined. Annual hunting quotas regularly exceed the natural population increase which is 5% in most of the world's brown bear populations. A hunting quota of as little as 10% poses a direct threat to species preservation. The trophy hunting being carried out in Croatia could cause the extinction of bears as in almost all of Western Europe!

It will be impossible to preserve the bear population with sport hunting, trophy exports and hunting quotas that exceed the natural population increase.This petition demands that the institutions and persons responsible for bear protection:

- Abolish the trophy sport hunting of brown bears in the Republic of Croatia.

- Determine the size of the brown bear population with the participation of experts and representatives of organizations in the field of wild animal protection that are not linked to hunting management and commercial exploitation of bears.

"Save Our Brown Bear" citizens' initiative

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Link to the petition: 

https://www.peticijeonline.com/spasimo_medvjeda_od_trofejnog_lova