I’ve co-directed and written a new documentary on Europe’s failure to manage its bear population: watch and find out more here

Europe is failing to manage its bear population. The large mammals are victims of human abuse, and humans are victims of bear conflict. 

Bear numbers are rising in south Europe, where friction between humans and bears are on the increase. Humans have a choice  – either they hunt down and kill all bears, or they must co-exist with the large mammals.

Bears are protected by EU law, but each country operates its own policy of hunting, saving, feeding or eating the animals. 

A bear could face death or survival depending on whether it lives in Estonia or Latvia, Norway or Sweden. In Italy, a bear that kills a man is the subject of an expensive trial that captivates a nation. In neighbouring Slovenia, such a bear would be shot, chopped up and boiled in a stew.

In this documentary, data and feature project Bears Uncovered, I worked with a team of journalists, travelling to five countries in Europe (Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Albania and Kosovo) to discover the status of wild bears and bears in captivity, and researched the 26 countries in Europe where bears are active. 

Here’s the video:

Here’s a top ten takeaways from our investigation:

🐻 1. Bears are still caged in private homes and outside restaurants in Slovenia, Albania and Romania.

🐻 2. Bear fat is on sale on the black market in Kosovo as an ointment and food

🐻 3. Foreign tourists are feeding wild bears on the street in Romania, and forcing them to pose for selfies. Both activities are illegal

🐻 4. Bear goulash is on sale in restaurants in Slovenia, and we reveal how it tastes

🐻 5. Why Romania has the highest number of human fatalities from bear conflict in Europe

🐻 6. Bear numbers are on the rise in southern Europe and stable in most of north Europe (in total of around 9.3 percent). Reasons for this include more food availability, an enlarging wilderness, humans abandoning parts of the countryside as they move to the cities, and climate change.

🐻 7. Why female bears with cubs are hiding in urban areas in many countries. Experts and research argue that settlements protect them from alpha males. Towns can act as a “shelter” for female bears fleeing abuse

🐻 8. Official, state-sponsored bear killings are on the rise for total numbers in Europe and all of Russia

🐻 9. Bear trophy hunting is on sale in the EU in Estonia, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as in Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Russia. Prices can go up to 15,000 USD a hunt.

🐻10. Bear hunting does not always work as a method of population control. In Russia, Estonia and Slovenia, there continues to be a rise in bear numbers

We also examine the alternatives to a bear cull, such as bear-proofing the countryside, using special dogs to protect livestock, creating natural feeding zones, or using sanctuaries for problem bears. Here’s the video for Bears Uncovered: Solutions.

The whole damned thing is available here at bearsuncovered.com