The Bulgarian Environment Ministry has authorised police and park rangers to hunt down and kill the bear which mauled a woman, leaving her in critical condition. Additionally, eight other bears which are reported to be near rural settlements in the area and could be dangerous to people living there are to be caught and relocated

The authorisation was given to the Slaveino hunting club in the village of Slaveinovo. They are to "organise a hunting party in the Banite Municipality near Malka Arda and have the bear killed," bTV said on July 21 2010.

A woman was attacked by a Bulgarian brown bear on the morning of July 14 2010 and was in a serious condition in hospital.

The incident occurred at about 9am between the villages of Malka Arda and Oryahovets in south Bulgaria, in the Municipality of Banite, according to Malka Arda mayor Rossen Iliev.

The two sisters had gone into the forest to collect mushrooms when they encountered a brown bear. One of the women managed to escape but the other one was cornered by the animal and attacked, suffering several "serious blows". The woman was taken by a paramedic unit to a hospital in Smolyan, where she was later reported in serious but stable condition.

Additionally, the Ministry has authorised the park rangers and other respective authorities to capture eight bears and have them relocated safely in "high mountainous areas where bear population is at low density and far away from populated areas" the report said.

The bears will be caught using traps designed to "inflict no permanent harm to the animal's foot" and then fitted out with collars equipped with GPS devices which will keep the park rangers informed at their whereabouts. The action will be conducted in conjunction with the Regional Inspectorate for the Environment and Waters and park rangers from Balkani.

In May 2010, a brown bear killed a man near the Smolyan village of Koutela, which prompted to the authorities to order the bear killed. However, such events are rare and attacks on humans are reportedly "exceptional cases".

The Bulgarian brown bear is, in effect, the (Ursus arctos arctos) a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), and found across northern Eurasia. The brown bear is also known as the "common brown bear", and colloquially by many other names.

The animal is widespread in Bulgaria. Bears are found on Vitosha Mountain, close to Sofia as well as Rila, Pirin, the Rhodope mountains, the Lozenska Mountain and Bulgaria's spine, the massive Stara Planina range.

The Bulgarian brown bear is a protected species, and their killing is authorised only if they have been proven to attack humans.