A bear kills a jogger in northern Italy.
The mother makes serious allegations against the authorities.
Now a discussion breaks out - Reinhold Messner also gets involved.
Bolzano - It is a tragic case that is currently affecting all of Italy - and also the Alpine region beyond the national borders.
A bear attacked and killed a 26-year-old Italian man in the northern Italian province of Trentino.
The police then published details of the death throes that the young man had apparently faced.
Now there is a big discussion in Italy about the possible shooting of this one bear and about the bears' right to exist in the region in general.
Bear kills jogger in Italy: mother writes angry letter to authorities
"Do you know that we are angry and outraged?
The system made Andrea the first announced victim.”
With these harsh words, the mother of the killed jogger turned to the authorities in a letter reported by the Italian
La Stampa
.
As residents, one was aware that the bears posed a danger - but there were no "major interventions (there have been, ed.) on the part of the authorities to ensure the safety of the population."
"I wanted to tell you that my soul and that of my family is shattered with immense pain, we can't get over it.
(...) Knowing that Andrea was at the mercy of the bear shocks me," the mother continues.
In the letter, she asks the authorities to take action.
At the same time, she thanks the rescue and search teams and all the volunteers who would have participated in the search for her initially missing son.
Partner of the dead man reports: The danger of the bears was omnipresent
The partner of the dead man had previously spoken.
She told
Corriere Trentino
that she and her boyfriend were aware of the danger of bears every time they entered the forest.
Her friend even joked several times before he went for a run: "I hope I don't meet a bear".
In Italy, these statements are increasingly leading to a big discussion as to whether the bears should stay in the region.
During the press conference confirming the bear's killing, Maurizio Fugatti, President of the Province of Trento, said that "some national bodies are too concerned about animal welfare".
Italy is discussing the bear population - Reinhold Messner is also involved
Meanwhile he gets at least partial backing from Rome.
Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said it was now OK to shoot down the "guilty" bear.
As of now, this does not apply to other bears classified as dangerous.
Rediscover a country: you have never seen Italy like this
Rediscover a country: you have never seen Italy like this
In the meantime, mountain legend Reinhold Messner has also gotten involved in the topic.
"Now animal rights activists must finally recognize that (...) they are predators and as such pose a danger, those who live in the mountains, for tourists, for herds," La Stampa quotes him as
saying
.
According to Messner, he is in contact with the provincial president Fugatti.
In his opinion, there is an urgent need to reduce the number of bears in the region.
“Coexistence with wolves and bears in a humanized and small area like ours is no longer sustainable.
Especially considering the number of copies,” Messner continued in the report.
The South Tyrolean state administration is currently assuming 73 to 92 bears in the Central Alps.
With young animals it should be just over 100 animals.
The bear population in northern Italy was threatened with extinction in the late 1990s, so the Life Ursus project decided to bring more bears to the region.
In addition to three remaining animals, ten new animals were imported from Slovenia.
According to the South Tyrolean state administration, the aim at the time was to reach a population of 40 to 60 animals over the course of 20 to 40 years.
This goal has now been far exceeded.
(rjs)
