Regional officials in the northern Italian Alps took the life of a mother bear labeled as "threatening" on Tuesday, citing a previous attack on a French visitor in July and additional confrontations with people.
Protests erupted from animal welfare organizations, and an Italian government official also voiced opposition.
The bear, identified as KJ1, had three offspring. The International Organization for Animal Protection (OIPA) expressed concerns about the cubs' ability to fend for themselves.
Maurizio Fugatti, the head of the local authority in Trento, authorized the use of the bear's tracking device to locate and eliminate it.
"KJ1 was a menace," the local authority declared.
"The bear was responsible for at least seven interactions with humans," including the July 16 incident involving a 43-year-old French traveler in the municipality of Dro.
The traveler managed to escape with injuries to his arm and leg and sought assistance.
The national environment minister of Italy criticized the decision of the regional government.
"The elimination of individual bears is not an effective solution to the issue," Gilberto Pichetto Fratin stated, emphasizing his belief that this approach was misguided.
However, Fratin recognized the need for intervention, suggesting sterilization as a possible solution.
He admitted that attempting to promote the bear reintroduction program — initiated with EU funding in 1999 across several Alpine nations — as a tourist attraction was a misstep.
The animal rights organization OIPA described the death of the 22-year-old mother as a tragedy for her offspring.
"Animals are sentient creatures deserving of respect and care, not mere targets for removal," OIPA stated, accusing Fugatti of adopting an "anti-bear" policy.
It also criticized the decision to execute the bear at night, arguing that it rendered any legal challenge impossible, as it had been in previous instances where rights groups had successfully contested such orders.
Latest development in 25-year effort to bring back brown bears to the Alps
In 2023, another bear named JJ4 in Trento was initially facing a decision to be killed by the courts, which were later reversed.
At present, there are plans to move the bear responsible for attacking a runner from its current location in Italy to a sanctuary in Germany.
In February, another bear, identified as M90, was also shot and killed in the area.
The vicinity of Trento has seen nine instances of bear aggression towards humans over the span of about 25 years as part of the repopulation initiative. Similar incidents have been reported in other Alpine countries such as Slovakia.
This situation has led to inquiries regarding the feasibility of continuing to support these animals in the face of the area's higher population density and increased human activity compared to the time when bears were more prevalent in the Alps.
Historically, in Germany, one of the first bears introduced to the Alpine repopulation effort to be killed was a brown bear known as Bruno (or JJ1, according to the project's tracking system for the animals).
He entered the Austrian and Bavarian Alps in the first half of 2006 and was eventually shot by hunters, despite previous unsuccessful attempts to capture him alive.
