Prince Emanuel of Liechtenstein has shot the largest bear in Europe by a mistake. Investigation is underway after the prince killed Europe’s largest bear during a trophy hunt in Transylvania in March this year. The brown bear, Arthur, was 17 years old and probably the largest of its kind in Europe. Arthur was shot a month after a local farmer complained that a female bear was harassing his animals.
Prince Emanuel, who lives in Austria, is said to have received a permit to kill a female bear following the complaints from the farmer in the village of Ojdula in Transylvania about the animal attacking his livestock. Instead, he shot what turned out to be a giant male bear. Nature conservationists criticized him. Gabriel Paun of the environmental organization, Agent Green, told the BBC that they have nothing against the prince personally, but they believe that the Romanian Hunters’ Association has made a mistake when they arranged the hunt.
Female bears are much smaller than male bears. Activists believe that the bear Arthur was shot on purpose because he has a high trophy value. According to the Austrian environmental group VGT, Arthur has a trophy value of 592.8 out of 600 possible points which, according to the group, would be the highest ever registered on one single European bear.
Trophy hunting for bears was banned in Romania in 2016 after the brown bear was protected by an EU directive. Hunting is only allowed in cases where bears harm other animals.
The Romanian Minister of the Environment, has confirmed that a hunting permit had been granted, but it is not clear who received the license. A local hunting team in Covasna is said to have received the license, but it is not documented that the prince was allowed to kill bears in Romania. The environmental authorities in Romania have now launched an investigation.
According to the BBC, the prince has not responded to their attempts to reach him, but the prince’s office states that he is concerned about ecology and sustainability. The office of the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein said in a statement to AFP: “The royal court did not know the background of this private and personal visit to Romania. However, the Royal Court would like to point out that respect for nature has been one of the fundamental concerns of the House and is a central element of the family’s commitment to ecological and social sustainability”.
