Bear to be captured after wounding man, ecologists unhappy

TRENTINO - Ugo Rossi, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, has signed an order calling for the capture of the bear which wounded a man who was walking his dog on Saturday in the small commune of Terlago, in the Municipality of Vallelaghi. The official document is for the “monitoring, identification and removal of a dangerous bear for public safety and security”, as reported by Italian daily Il Messaggero. 

 On Tuesday, Italy’s “12th Commission”, which brings together leaders from several provinces, will meet to consider the decree “which, if approved,” explains the provincial administration “would allow one to manage everything involving the presence of the bear in Trentino in the quickest and most direct way.”

 The mandate to find the bear makes sure that the forestry services, if they are in danger during the bear’s capture, can kill it. In fact, the President ordered the forestry service to proceed, as soon as possible, to monitor the area, identify the specimen and proceed to capture it, either for permanent captivation or killing.

 WWF stated: “It is necessary to better understand what has happened: if aggression has been triggered by inadvertently inappropriate behaviour on the part of man or his dog, or whether it was actually a problematic bear. In this case it may be appropriate to apply the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Brown Bear on the Alps. Coexistence is always possible with the appropriate measures.”

 Maurizio Fugatti of Lega Nord had criticised the local government because the same bear had supposedly committed another attack in June 2007, and was apparently captured in October 2015, but has been walking free ever since. WWF criticised politicians for using the incident for political gain. "It is noteworthy how once again the bear becomes the scapegoat of a political clash.”

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