The killing of a mom bear in Italy has ignited protests and criticism from animal rights teams and authorities officers.
The bear, often called KJ1, was shot by native authorities on Tuesday after being deemed “harmful” following an incident earlier this month during which a French vacationer was injured.
Tracked through her radio collar, KJ1 was positioned within the northern Italian Alps and killed on the orders of Maurizio Fugatti, head of the provincial authority in Trento.
Her killing was strongly condemned by Italy’s atmosphere minister and numerous animal rights organizations.
“The killing of particular person bears is just not the answer to the issue,” mentioned Atmosphere Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin. He expressed his disapproval to Fugatti and confused the necessity for various measures.
Bear inhabitants in Italy
The Trento area has seen a rise in bear assaults in recent times and has struggled with balancing wildlife conservation and public security.
Bears have been reintroduced to the world in 1999 by means of an EU-funded program to spice up the native ecosystem and entice tourism.
Minister Fratin criticized the area for utilizing the bear’s picture to draw vacationers whereas failing to implement sustainable coexistence methods. He recommended sterilization as a possible methodology to regulate the bear inhabitants with out resorting to deadly measures.
Italian animal welfare group OIPA reported that KJ1 was roughly 22 years outdated and had three cubs. The group expressed concern for the cubs’ survival with out their mom and condemned Fugatti’s actions as a part of an “anti-bear” technique.
“Animals are sentient beings to be revered and taken care of, not objects to be eliminated,” OIPA acknowledged, highlighting the necessity for extra humane wildlife administration practices.
In Might, Fugatti additionally wished to kill mom bear JJ4. After protests towards her euthanization by animal rights activists, the bear was saved from demise however stored in captivity.
Follow for each day animal information – Support animal welfare journalism
