The Slovak government declared a partial state of emergency due to brown bears attacking people, allowing the shooting of 350 bears. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba, and Tourism and Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak held a joint press conference in the capital, Bratislava. Prime Minister Fico stated that a state of emergency had been declared in 52 regions of the country due to the increasing brown bear attacks in recent months. Fico mentioned that people were afraid of becoming prey to bears, and that the bear attacks had become a serious issue, expressing concerns that the situation would become even more unbearable during the summer. There were 1,900 bear attacks in 2024. Environment Minister Tomas Taraba shared that there were over 1,000 bears in the country and that last year, there were 1,900 bear attacks nationwide. Taraba noted that in line with European Union regulations, hunters were permitted to hunt brown bears to ensure human safety, leading to the enforcement of the state of emergency. Tourism and Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak confirmed that due to the increasing bear attacks, 350 bears were allowed to be shot, equivalent to 40% of the bear population in the country. He argued that bears reproduce quickly, so they are not at risk of extinction. Similar measures were taken in the Czech Republic last year, where 144 bears were killed for similar reasons.