Bison, elk culling suggested by Pole

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s environment minister has angered environmentalists after saying he favors reducing the number of protected species including elk and bison because some of the animals damage crops — but he added it isn’t easy in an age of “excessive sensitivity to animal protection.”

Henryk Kowalczyk told residents in the town of Mlawa that his ministry had suggested to regional environmental authorities that they might grant more permits to hunt elk, bison and beavers. These are all protected species under European law and the hunting of them is strictly controlled.

“We live in times of excessive sensitivity to animal protection, to put it mildly,” Kowalczyk said Sunday, adding that his predecessor, Jan Szyszko, had given permission for the hunting of elk but had to cancel that almost immediately under pressure.

The World Wildlife Fund’s senior specialist in species conservation in the group’s Poland office said it was “extremely concerning” that the minister suggested support for weakening wildlife protection.

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