Locals in Southern Bulgaria have expressed their indignation over what they see as inadequate measures taken up by the government to protect them from killer bears.

The protests became increasingly vocal during an information campaign meeting staged by Bulgaria’s Environment Ministry in the village of Kutela, Smolyan District, where one man was killed by a bear in the spring.

Earlier in July, an elderly woman barely survived a bear attack in another village in the Smolyan District located 30 km away from the village of Kutela, in the Rhodopi Mountains.

The locals have complained that they constantly feel threatened by the bears, and that they fear for both their lives, and their livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, and bees.

“Are bears more important than people?,” asked the locals as cited by the Bulgarian National Television, as government officials tried to explain to them how to behave in case of a bear attack.

The peasants said the information fliers handed out to them were ridiculous, and that the sprays with which they are supposed to fend off the attacks of killer bears were a joke.

According to the officials of the Environment Directorate in Smolyan, the sprays they gave to the locals could be a very efficient means of protection against bears.

“We have decided to make these fliers because everyone, including the Mayor of Smolyan, said there was little information about how to deal with bears,” explained a government expert.

The Kutela residents said they would move and abandon their village to the bears as long as the government finds a way to resettle them.

They believe that the local population of bears is excessive – it is estimated at about 50 animals, while the local people believe that the region can sustain no more than 30, thus leading some of the bears to attack livestock and humans.