In Italy, the police killed a “dangerous to humans” bear: animal rights activists are threatening protests
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In Italy, animal rights activists condemned the killing of a bear by forest police in the Trentino region.
Brown bear M90 has been declared “dangerous to humans” after chasing people three times. The last time was a couple of tourists who were walking along a mountain path, writes The Guardian.
The bear, which could be identified by a collar with a radio transmitter and ear tags, was also seen 12 times “in residential areas or in the immediate vicinity of homes,” local authorities said.
Officials assured that the Italian environmental protection institute ISPRA confirmed the need for “the fastest possible elimination of the M90”.
| Photo: rcreitmeyer/Depositphotos |
The bear was tracked down in the forest and killed. It comes amid ongoing legal battles between Trentino President Maurizio Fugatti and animal rights activists over how to deal with the bears, which are considered dangerous.
The debate came to a head last April when 26-year-old Andrea Papi was mauled to death by a bear nicknamed JJ4 while jogging on a mountain trail. JJ4 also attacked two tourists in 2020.
Animal rights and environmental activists said they would protest because, they say, the speed with which the order was issued and put into effect did not give them time to ask for a delay.
Lucia Coppola, a member of the provincial council from the Green Party, said: “It was a cruel act. The animal never caused any harm, it should not have been considered dangerous“.
An animal rights group said the province’s policy is “short-sighted and anti-animal.”
“We were hoping for a change of decision until the last. But President Fugatti turned a deaf ear to the public’s pleas. M90 was a young bear that had been spotted several times near populated areas“, they said.
The animals were brought to Trentino from Slovenia in the early 2000s as part of a project to restore the dwindling brown bear population in the region. There are about 100 bears in the province.
The committee, created in memory of Andrea Papi, expressed concern about the increased incidence of bears, especially in winter, when the animals are usually hibernating. It is believed that they dare to approach populated areas in search of food even in winter because of the warm weather.
Read also: A bear from Yampol, which was rescued by the Armed Forces, settled in Scotland
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