04/17/2023 6:47 pm (act. 04/17/2023 06:47 pm)
Regional President of Trentino Alto Adige Maurizio Fugatti. © Trento Press Office
The mayors of Val di Sole, in Trentino, where ten days ago a “problem bear” killed a 26-year-old jogger, are threatening to resign unless a solution is found to the problem of coexistence with large carnivores.
They want to be involved together in the process before the administrative court of Trento, which the animal rights activists started with their appeal against the shooting of the “problem bear”.
“Must ensure the safety of citizens”
“The task of each mayor is to guarantee the safety of citizens, but if decisions are taken at the supra-municipal level that prevent me from fulfilling my task, then what’s the point of continuing to be mayor”, said the head of Ruffré City Council, Donato Seppi, according to a report in the daily newspaper “Alto Adige”.
The mayor wants to put down three “trouble bears”.
The mayors protest against the suspension of the killing of the “problem bear” decided by an administrative court of Trento. The court initially suspended the order to shoot, which the governor of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti, had issued last week, thus allowing the appeal brought by animal welfare associations. Fugatti said people in the Val di Sole valley were worried. He reaffirmed his firm intention that a total of three predators classified as problem bears be culled “if the state allows us”.
26-year-old athlete found dead
Runner Andrea Papi, 26, was attacked and killed by the bear on April 5 in the Trentino municipality of Caldes, in Val di Sole. The animal is the brother of “problem bear” Bruno, shot dead in Bavaria in 2006. The bear should have been killed as early as 2020, because the bear known by the code JJ4 attacked two people, a father and his son, on Mount Peller.
In Italy, the debate over the coexistence of bears and humans has intensified since the runner’s death. Trentino wants to massively reduce the number of bears in the area. About 100 brown bears currently live in Trentino.