Tension is rising among truffle hunters in Bulgaria. The reason is the bill by the Ministry of Agriculture, which, in the words of the people involved in the truffle business, will limit their job opportunities. They are pushing for a law to regulate this activity, otherwise they will protest again.
Krasimir Filipov from Novo selo has been hunting truffles for several years. He does this with his specially trained dog Limba. In the forests he comes across an increasing number of habitats that have been destroyed by unscrupulous amateur – hunters.
“Colleagues with dogs – no problem, but guys with hoes, shovels, getting into the woods is the biggest problem. They consume natural resources that cannot be recovered ”, says Krasimir Filipov.
To end this bad practice, the National Truffle Hunters Association is pushing for a law.
The great interest in truffles is caused by their high purchase price abroad. In Italy, for example, they pay 200 euros a kilogram, but they want them as early as in February. And although the truffles are still green, their unregulated collection begins, which in turn leads to poorer quality of the goods. That’s why the hunters of the expensive mushroom want regulation.
If there is no one to buy off the truffles that are collected without dogs that are not in season, the problem will end. In other countries, there is a calendar that is important for extracting ripe, quality truffles. And the same thing should be applied here, „explains Krasimir Filipov.
Truffle hunters are concerned about the conflicting signals coming from the Ministry of Agriculture.
„There is not a single person on the committee that is to look into the truffle issue who is familiar with the extraction, demand and trade of truffles, no interested person, no expert. We do not understand how a regulation is drawn up by people who are unfamiliar with the situation, „says Svetlozar Siderov of the National Association.
Nearly 15,000 people are involved in the truffle hunting business in Bulgaria. If they do not reach an agreement with the ministry, they are ready to launch a national protest.
Translation by Pharos Schools Ruse
