Romania’s government has more than doubled the number of bears that park rangers can legally kill, approving the culling of nearly 500 bears this year after a deadly attack on a hiker caused a nationwide outcry.

The new law, passed in an emergency parliamentary session on Monday, authorizes the culling of 481 bears to control “overpopulation,” more than twice the 220 bears culled last year.

The session included a moment of silence for the 19-year-old hiker killed last week in the Carpathian Mountains.

Summoning lawmakers from their summer recess, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu addressed the urgency.

According to Romania’s environment ministry, bears have killed 26 people and severely injured 274 over the past 20 years, Al-Jazeera has reported.

Romania hosts up to 8,000 bears, the largest brown bear population in Europe outside Russia. Environmental groups have condemned the new legislation.

Written by B.C. Begley