Environment Minister on the “bear condom” scandal: “I believe it is important that we come forward with relevant proposals”

Environment Minister Natalia Intotero reacted to information according to which environmental organizations had allegedly proposed using “condoms for bears” to reduce the animals’ reproduction. The statement was made at the National Environment and Sustainability Summit, held in Cluj-Napoca.

The minister stressed that protecting the environment and wildlife must be accompanied by compliance with the law and the protection of human lives. Natalia Intotero called on organizations to formulate relevant proposals and advocated unblocking investments in Romania.

The actual proposal concerns a pilot program to control the reproduction of habituated or food-conditioned bears by administering contraceptive vaccines, particularly to females. Veterinarian Ovidiu Roșu, ARCA’s medical officer, explained that the method would require approved substances, specialized personnel, logistics, and monitoring the animals after treatment.

Roșu stated that the term “condoms” was used neither in the documents submitted to the Ministry of the Environment nor in discussions with the institution’s representatives. The information appeared in an article based on anonymous sources, without documents or statements to confirm it, and was subsequently picked up by several publications. Contraception would reduce the population at a slow pace and would involve high costs.