After Reprieve from Execution, Female Bear Who Killed a Young Man is Relocated from Italy
Authorities in the Trentino region of northern Italy have announced that a female bear who killed a jogger in the Alps last year will be transferred to a sanctuary in Germany.
The incident occurred in April 2023 and resulted in the death of a 26-year-old man.
The regional authorities had ordered the capture and execution of the bear known as JJ4, but this decision was halted after legal appeals by environmental advocates.
Roberto Failoni, tourism and hunting advisor in Trentino, told the local daily Corriere del Trentino: “JJ4 will be transferred by autumn,” adding that she will be moved to the Forst bear sanctuary in the state of Thuringia, central Germany.
The decision came after the animal rights organization LAV said it had obtained medical reports showing that JJ4 and another bear held in the Trentino region were in a state of “acute stress,” a claim Failoni denied.
The area around the city of Trento, which has been repopulated with bears since 1999 under a program funded by the European Union, has experienced several bear attacks in recent years, raising questions about how to achieve successful coexistence with these animals.
