Killer bear should be put down says environment minister

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 19 - Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto said Wednesday that a bear that killed a man in the northern region of Trento this month should be put down after being captured this week.
    The female animal, JJ4, killed 26-year-old trail runner Andrea Papi on Mt Peller on April 5, making him the first Italian to be killed by a bear in modern times.
    He is thought to have run into her on a trail and she may have reacted because she perceived a threat to her three cubs.
    Trento Provincial President Maurizo Fugatti of the right-wing League party issued an order for JJ4 to be eliminated but this was suspended by a court pending an appeal by animal-rights groups.
    "I have set up a committee, not so much for JJ4, but for the more general issue of an possible excess number (of bears)," Pichetto told Mediaset television.
    "When it comes to JJ4 there is judiciary and, for me, the operative arm of the environment ministry, ISPRA (the national institute of environmental protection and research).
    "So the evaluation of the minister is based on that of ISPRA which, in talks with the Trento provincial government, came out in favour of putting it down".
    JJ4 was caught on Monday night using a tube trap and was transferred to the Casteller wildlife centre pending a final verdict on whether it is to be put down. Animal rights activists have camped out outside the centre with banners calling for the animal to be spared.
    Fugatti's order for JJ4 to be put down was suspended by a local administrative court on Friday.
    It was the second time the court overturned an order for JJ4 to be put down. The first ruling dates to 2020, after the bear attacked and injured two hikers, a father and son, also on Mount Peller.
    The bear population in Trentino has boomed to around 120 exemplars after the start of a campaign to stop them dying out at the turn of the millennium. (ANSA).