overpopulation

Gabriel Paun, founder of the environmental NGO Agent Green, which campaigns for wildlife protection and against illegal logging, said the issue was mismanagement, not overpopulation.

In public posts online, he argued that procreation without the consent of the unborn is unethical and unjustifiable in a world struggling with environmental harm, violence and overpopulation.

Ground squirrels at this park have long been a problem for the city, which has been cited by the county for overpopulation and has tried a number of suppression methods.

"Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of rhetoric of catastrophe, either overpopulation or shrinking population, which leads to this kind of exaggerated response, and sometimes a manipulative response," says Dr Kanem.

His government argues that a bear overpopulation problem has led to the attacks.