The Italian government is alarmed after the deadly bear attack - now the environment minister believes that female bears can be sterilized.
Caldes - About 10 days after a 26-year-old jogger was killed by a bear in northern Italy, problem bear Gaia was captured and has been in an Italian animal sanctuary ever since.
According to dpa information, regional president Maurizio Fugatti then ordered the animal to be killed – 70 other bears are also about to be shot.
Enpa
,
Legambiente and other Italian animal
and
environmental protection organizations have criticized it.
They were able to bring themselves to a crisis meeting with Italian politicians.
At the meeting, which took place on April 26, sterilization of female bears was discussed, among other things.
That's why Italy is considering sterilization for female bears
It is a tragic event of the century that is currently occupying Italy and the whole world.
For the first time in 150 years, a bear has killed a human in Italy, according to environmental group
Legambiente.
But even before that, there had been dangerous incidents with bears in northern Italy - most recently, in 2020, a police officer was attacked by a bear.
This results in the following challenges for politics:
Keeping the population safe: Deadly bear attacks could repeat themselves in the future
Consider animal rights: Animal rights activists protest against shooting of bears
Curb overpopulation: Surplus of about 60 wild bears in the province of Trentino
In order to get the population under control, there are other options besides killing bears, affirm animal rights activists and environment minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.
According to the Austria Press Agency (apa), Fratin spoke out in favor of sterilizing female bears.
This would enable birth control without culling and also prevent the aggressive behavior of female bears with cubs, the minister said.
The world's largest animal rights organization
PETA
argued similarly a few months ago when it was decided that the offspring of a wolf-dog mating in Bavaria had to be shot.
Besides the sterilization consideration: This also follows the deadly bear attack
According to apa
, provincial president Maurizio Fugatti justified signing a new ordinance to kill the problem bear
by protecting the population .
Animal rights activists protest against lethal injections for bears.
In addition to sterilization, other alternative measures are being negotiated - including the distribution of the predators over several Alpine regions, according to the Italian daily
Corriere della Sera
.
+
The Italian Minister for the Environment calls for sterilization instead of shooting after a deadly bear attack in Italy.
(symbol photo)
© Imago/Guenter Hofer
The newspaper reports that the redistribution was also discussed during the exchange between politicians and animal rights activists.
The creation of wild animal corridors and possible destinations for the bears were discussed.
The focus is on Veneto in particular, to take in some of the 120 bears living in Trentino.
However, the President of Veneto, Luca Zaia, is currently ruling this out.
'A good first meeting': Animal rights group thinks first meeting after deadly bear attack is important step
In a press release of its own, the environmental protection association Legambiente
expressed
satisfaction with the first meeting with politicians, which "is also open to associations and other realities to discuss bear management and living together with humans". Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and Secretary of State Claudio Barbaro followed the association's appeal in deciding whether to convene this round.
The sterilization and redistribution of female bears could be discussed more frequently in a similar group in the future (Felina Wellner)
List of rubrics: © Imago/Guenter Hofer