Female bear that killed Italian man gets stay on execution after animal rights groups intervene

A female bear named JJ4 who had been sentenced to death for killing a trail runner last week has been granted a stay on the execution. The killer bear was to be 'tracked and euthanised' but the decision was overturned after animal rights groups successfully intervened.

26-year-old Andrea Papi was mauled by a bear last week when he went running near his village, Caldes, in north-east Italy’s Trentino region. After Papi did not return home, his family raised the alarm and the search and rescue team was pressed into service.

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His body was found overnight with deep wounds to the neck, arms and chest. DNA samples were found on a stick at the scene which Papi apparently used to defend himself but to no avail. However, the authorities, upon investigating the scene and Papi's clothes, concluded that it was the job of 17-year-old JJ4. The autopsy confirmed the theory as well.

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Trento governor orders putting down the bear

Afterwards, Trento Governor Maurizio Fugatti signed an order to euthanise the bear. However, Italian Anti Vivisection League(LAV), an animal rights campaign group, protested the decision and went to a regional court and petitioned to impose a stay.

The tribunal of Trento eventually agreed and the bear was granted a reprieve. LAV took to its Twitter account to celebrate the decision by posting a picture of a baby bear and its mother.

"The order has been suspended by the regional tribunal which accepted our requests," LAV tweeted.

LAV targeted Fugatti and called him arrogant for the decision to euthanise the bear. "It's evidently clear the desire of Mr Fugatti, he has no intention of working with us for a peaceful solution between bears and humans."

"What he wants is a vendetta towards bears, all he wants to do is kill them or move them out of the area."

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Fugatti and the local administration have now until May 11 to appeal the decision. While local animal rights groups are against the killing of JJ4, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which had previously batted to keep the female bear alive, told CNN they agree that the bear should be put down.

Notably, this is not the first instance when a euthanisation order has been passed against JJ4. In 2020, the bear attacked a different father and son but a court intervened and stayed the execution. A GPS monitoring device was attached to the bear for monitoring but the battery died a few days before the attack on Papi.

(With inputs from agencies)

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