The Slovak government declared a partial state of emergency due to wild bears attacking humans, allowing for the shooting of 350 bears. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba, and Tourism and Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak held a joint press conference in the capital city of Bratislava. Prime Minister Fico stated that a state of emergency had been declared in 52 regions of the country due to the increased attacks by wild bears in recent months. Fico mentioned that people were afraid to go into the forests out of fear of becoming bear prey, emphasizing the seriousness of bear attacks and expressing concerns that the situation would become unbearable during the summer. In 2024, there were 1900 bear attacks.

Environment Minister Tomas Taraba shared that there were 1900 bear attacks nationwide last year and that the country’s bear population was over 1000. Taraba noted that hunters were given permission to hunt wild bears in compliance with European Union (EU) regulations to ensure human safety, thereby implementing the state of emergency. Tourism and Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak revealed that due to the increasing bear attacks, permission was granted to hunt 350 bears, equivalent to 40% of the country’s bear population, and argued that due to bears’ rapid reproduction, they were not at risk of extinction. Similar reasons led to the killing of 144 bears in the Czech Republic last year.