Court suspends euthanization order for bear involved in fatal attack
An administrative court ruling in Italy’s Alpine region on Friday saved the life of a bear that fatally attacked a runner last month.
The brown bear has been identified as Jj4, Captured on April 18. After a two-week long manhunt after a 26-year-old local man was killed while jogging on a mountain trail.
A judicial panel in the city of Trento requested more details about the dynamics of the 17-year-old female bear’s attack, thus suspending an order by local authorities to euthanize the animal. The suspension will continue till June 27. But even then, the bear’s fate could not be decided, as a hearing was scheduled for December 14 to decide the merits of animal rights advocates’ proposals to relocate the bear to a sanctuary. Where animals do not pose a threat to humans.
Italian agency ANSA also said the court concluded that more details from the runner’s autopsy were needed before a decision could be made about the bear’s fate.
A bear that fatally attacked a runner in Italy’s Alpine region last month has been freed for now, a court has ruled. (Fox News)
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Animal rights groups challenged an order issued by authorities in the province of Trento to kill the bear.
It was unclear whether Jj4 might have attacked Andrea Papi, who was on a training run, because the children were nearby. His family has said they oppose killing the bear.
The provincial president has argued that Papi’s death could have been avoided if the bear had attacked and injured two people in 2020.
JJ was the parent of 4. Brought to Italy from Slovenia. Two decades ago, as part of an EU-funded project to increase the population of the brown bear, which was then feared to be on the verge of extinction. Bear populations flourished, with the animals increasingly encountering people.