Romania’s agriculture minister Petre Daea said yesterday that a sheep can be successfully used for Romania’s country branding because “sheep are living statues.”

“Just look in any corner of the country, how beautiful this animal is grazing the Romania’s green pastures. Everybody has leaves, but not sheep like in Romania. Near a sheep you can find a leaf, but near a leaf you can’t find a sheep,” Daea said at local TV station Antena 3 when asked why the sheep should be a national symbol, reports local Agerpres.

His statement determined a lot of ironic comments all over the internet, and even from Romanian officials.

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said that Petrea Daea was not the tourism minister but the agriculture minister and that agriculture is more connected to sheep. However, he said he talked to tourism minister Marius Dobre about the country branding and about promoting other national symbols, such as Dracula and Miorita, a sheep from an old Romanian pastoral ballad.

Romania’s tourism branding logo, which is currently represented by a leaf, can’t be changed until 2020, because it was created with EU funds.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Madr.ro)