Italy: Execution of bear blamed for death of 26-year-old man ‘postponed’

An Italian court today suspended the decision to kill one of them brown bear which attacked last April and killed one person He is 26 years old who was running in the Alps.

Judges of the Administrative Tribunal in Rome ruled that while the bear must be kept in captivity for the safety of the citizens, killing it was a “disproportionate” and unnecessary decision. Hence they granted “hold” the execution of the bear known by the initials JJ4, whose fate has attracted the attention of the Italian media since the attack. The governor of Trento, where the incident took place, has called for her culling while animal rights groups have called for her to be rescued.

A final decision is not expected until December.

After 1999, based on a program funded by the European Union, brown bears were reintroduced to the area around Trento. However, in recent years, there have been many attacks, which raise questions about whether it is possible to achieve successful coexistence between these animals and humans.

JJ4, a 17-year-old female, has been accused of attacking two other people.

Animal rights lobby LAV welcomed the court’s decision. “There is no reason to delay moving JJ4 to a safe and approved sanctuary in Romania,” said Massimo Vittori, a spokesman for the organization that set up the shelter and offered to pay for the transport of the bear.

Another bear, MJ5, was sentenced to death for injuring a man last March, but not yet captured, the judges “gave life”.

Sources: Reuters, APE-MPE