The regional administrative court of Trento on Friday suspended the killing of the “problem bears” JJ4 and MJ5 until June 27. “The bears’ lives are safe for now,” wrote the animal protection association LAV, which lodged an objection to the death order decided by the province of Trentino.
The prospects of relocating the bears are real, the association said. He wants to present a project to transfer the animals to the authorities.
➤ More: After deadly attack: Trentino wants to kill bears
Lawsuits by animal rights activists
According to official information, bear JJ4 attacked and killed a 26-year-old runner in early April. The governor of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti, then issued a decree ordering her to be killed. After a lawsuit by animal rights activists, a court initially stayed that instruction. The animal was captured in the meantime and taken to a game reserve in the region.
runner found dead
On April 5, the runner was found dead on a forest trail in the Trentino municipality of Caldes, in a valley (Val di Sole) frequented by hikers and tourists. According to prior knowledge, a bear that had already attracted attention several times had killed the man.
She is the sister of “problem bear” Bruno, shot dead in Bavaria in 2006. After an attack in 2020 the bear should have been killed, a court ruled against the murder.
Opinion of two veterinarians
However, animal rights activists deny that the man was attacked and fatally injured by the bear known by the code JJ4. Based on the opinion of two veterinarians, which the animal protection association LEAL submitted to the administrative court of Trento, the runner Andrea Papi was not killed by JJ4, but by an adult male bear, as evidenced by the DNA traces on the man’s corpse .
According to the province, the number of bears in the area has increased enormously since the EU project “Life Ursus”. Instead of the planned 50, about 100 wild animals settled.