Trentino: "If the court agrees with us, the bear will be killed"

2023-04-18 09:41:47

The bear was caught by rangers after falling into a pipe trap. She was housed in an electrified enclosure at the Casteller Animal Care Center in Trentino, Trentino authorities said on Tuesday.

Last week, the administrative court in Trento upheld an appeal filed by animal welfare organizations against the Trentino province’s order to kill the problem bear. The LAV and LAC associations had previously sharply criticized the killing of wild animals. According to the decree, the order to kill the bear will be suspended until May 11th. Then there will be a hearing before the court to decide the fate of the bear. “If the court agrees, the bear will be killed,” Trentino governor Maurizio Fugati said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Sister shot in Bavaria

A 26-year-old jogger was attacked and killed by the bear two weeks ago in the Trentino municipality of Caldes, in a valley (Val di Sole) popular with hikers and tourists. A DNA comparison confirmed this. She is the sister of the “problem bear” Bruno, who was shot dead in Bavaria in 2006. JJ4’s parents are two Slovenian bears, Joze and Jurka, who were released in the Trentino forests in 2000 and 2001 as part of the EU-funded ‘Life Ursus’ bear reintroduction project.

Ten bears were abandoned in 1999

The “Life Ursus” project started in 1999 with support from the European Union. Ten bears from Slovenia were released into the region, where the bear population was feared to be extinct at the time. A population of 50 animals was originally planned, but there are currently twice as many. The brown bears in Trentino have killed several animals in recent months and also attacked and injured a man. The autonomous province of Trento then demanded more freedom in catching and killing dangerous animals.

Fugatti for mass transfer

In Italy, however, the debate about the coexistence of bears and humans has intensified since the death of the Trentino jogger. The province wants to kill the bear and generally massively reduce the distribution of the species in the area. According to Fugatti, the population of bears would have to be reduced by 70 individuals. For example, he advocated a mass transfer of bears from Trentino to other areas. Animal protection associations, on the other hand, also criticize these plans.