site.bta80% of Forest Fires Caused by Negligence

80% of Forest Fires Caused by Negligence

Sofia, November 3 (BTA) - Eighty per cent of forest fires in
Bulgaria are caused by human negligence, Dimiter Batalov, a
directorate chief at the Executive Agency for Forests, told a
BTA-hosted news conference on Tuesday. Batalov said this year
has seen 327 forest fires in the country affecting 1,900
hectares of forests, including 150 hectares which were
completely destroyed. Along with illegal logging and poaching,
forest fires are a major factor damaging the habitats of
protected species, he said.

Batalov was press-launching a campaign to prevent crimes against
 wildlife, mottoed "I protect the forests and the eagles of
Bulgaria."

So far this year, authorities have issued 12,000 written
statements of legal violations committed in forests and have
seized 11,500 cubic metres of illegally harvested timber, he
said.

Dimiter Gradinarov of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection
of Birds said that every year poachers catch between several
hundred and several thousand animals of protected species. In
addition to exotic birds, Bulgaria is also visited by rare
reptiles, and in the distant past it was even home to tigers and
 lions, he said. Protected species recently smuggled from
Bulgaria have included several toucan species and birds of prey
meant to be sold in Western Europe, where they can be kept as
pets.

The biggest problem is that such crimes are seriously
underestimated and dealing with them is not a priority,
Gradinarov commented. He believes the laws are not bad, but
there is still room for improvement. The most serious
encroachments carry fines of up to 20,000 leva and prison terms
of up to five years.