1 of 1 Bear Jj4 was sedated on 30 July 2020 Photo: Ansa/Via AFP Bear Jj4 was sedated on 30 July 2020 Photo: Ansa/Via AFP
The Italian court ruled not to euthanize a bear that attacked and killed a jogger last month.
The bear identified as Jj4 is 17 years old. 20 years ago there were fears in the European Union that bears were going extinct on the continent, so policies to increase animal populations were implemented in Italy and the Alpine region. Bear Jj4’s parents were brought to Italy from Slovenia at that time. Bear numbers have increased and so have encounters between bears and humans.
That’s what happened with Jj4. She found a 26yearold man running on a hiking trail in the Italian Alps.
She was captured on April 18 after a twoweek hunt.
The Trento city magistrate demanded more details about the attack and suspended until June 27 the local government’s order to sacrifice the animal. According to the Ansa news agency, the court is awaiting information from the runner’s autopsy to make a decision on the bear’s fate.
- The decision to kill the bear that attacked and killed a young woman in Italy has divided the country
- A bear sentenced to death could leave three cubs orphaned
The execution may still be a long way off as a group of animal rights activists have petitioned the court to send the bear to a sanctuary where she poses no threat to humans.
This group argues that Jj4 may have attacked the runner because there were cubs near the trail. The man’s family have said they oppose the bear’s execution.
The head of Trento’s local government claims that the bear had already attacked two people in 2020 and that the jogger’s death could have been avoided if Jj4 had been euthanized after this incident.