The Unión Rural Asturiana (URA) has warned this Thursday that the continued presence of a brown bear among the houses of the parishes of Villatresmil and Fastias, in the municipality of Tineo, represents a situation that “cannot be normalized,” and it considers that the action protocol of the regional Administration “is not managing to resolve the problem.”
After a visit to Villatresmil and a meeting with the residents, the farming organization indicated in a press release that repeated sightings and material damage in inhabited areas and on private properties show that the measures applied to date “are not being sufficiently effective.”
In this context, URA urges reviewing and strengthening the actions in force and seeking additional solutions, without waiting for a more serious incident to occur. “When the measures applied do not work, what is appropriate is to review them, strengthen them and seek additional solutions, not limit oneself to continuing to do the same while the problem continues,” they say, emphasizing that residents’ safety and calm should take center stage.
As a response, the inhabitants of Villatresmil and Fastias have promoted a joint written document, signed by all and sent to the Ministry of Rural Affairs — specifically to the General Directorate of Agricultural Planning — in which they request immediate intervention.
In their request, they call for reviewing the effectiveness of the measures underway, intensifying the monitoring and surveillance of the specimen, and studying alternatives such as its capture, identification, tagging, and possible transfer to another suitable area, always in line with the current technical and legal criteria.
URA insists that the protection of wildlife must be harmonized with the safety of people and with the continuity of life in rural areas. “The conservation of the bear cannot be done at the expense of the tranquility and safety of those who live in rural areas,” the organization concluded.