Romania doubles brown bear hunting quota to 969 animals as President Dan signs Law 218/2026

Quota expansion and immediate response

Romanian President Nicușor Dan signed Law 218/2026 on 5 October 2026, enacting measures that double the annual number of brown bears permitted to be culled across the country. The legislation amends Emergency Ordinance 81/2021 and establishes a prevention quota of 859 bears alongside an intervention quota of 110 bears for both 2026 and 2027. In comparison, the 2024 quotas stood at 426 prevention permits and 55 emergency interventions. The new legal framework permits local intervention teams, led by mayors or deputy mayors alongside gendarmes, game management technicians, and veterinarians, to act directly on site without awaiting approval from the central ministry. Bear culling remains strictly prohibited in protected zones where hunting is barred by law.

Legislative pathway and institutional dispute

The legislation, initially drafted and advanced by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), navigated several months of constitutional review before enactment. Following parliamentary approval in early May 2026, Dan challenged the text at the Constitutional Court on 26 May, citing inadequate oversight provisions and potential conflicts with European Union wildlife protections. The Constitutional Court rejected the challenge in June 2026, confirming the constitutionality of the intervention mechanisms. Dan then referred the bill back to the legislature for re-examination, but deputies voted in September to maintain the draft in its original form. With no further constitutional remedies available, Dan signed the promulgation decree.

Rising human encounters and local implementation

The quota expansion follows a rise in bear encounters in populated areas, where animals search through municipal waste bins, enter farms, and attack livestock. On 1 October 2026, a 55-year-old farmer was killed by a bear while harvesting a cornfield in Hoghiz near Brașov, while his wife managed to reach safety. In Covasna County, where officials estimate more than 2,400 bears reside, local leaders welcomed the law while noting implementation constraints. Prefect Raduly Istvan pointed to the tight window remaining in 2026 to fulfill the county allocation of 86 bears.

Due to the delay in adopting and promulgating the normative act, fulfilling the prevention quota for this year has become, practically, impossible in our county, as it has been set at 86 specimens (...) In the year 2024 we were in a similar situation, but then we had a quota of 54 bear specimens, which we in Covasna County managed to harvest, but there were counties where they did not succeed. Now the number is higher and the time is a bit shorter.

Conservation concerns and international petition

Official estimates from the Ministry of Environment place Romania's brown bear population at approximately 12,800 individuals, while genetic census estimates range between 10,657 and 12,787. This makes Romania home to the second-largest bear population in Europe after Russia, with authorities assessing the population at more than double the ecologically viable level. Conservation groups have voiced strong objections to the expanded harvest limits. In December 2025, Foundation Conservation Carpathia urged authorities to concentrate interventions strictly around human settlements rather than within deep forest habitats. In Germany, the Berlin-based Welttierschutzgesellschaft submitted a petition asking the European Commission to examine the scientific validity and legal compliance of the law.