breaking latest news – TheStag ‘Jj4‘ awaits his fate, that is to say what the judges of the single section of the Administrative Court of Trento will decide in the hearing scheduled for 11 May next. The she-bear ‘Jj4’, which according to genetic tests is held responsible for having attacked and mortally wounded Andrea Papi last April 5 in the woods above the town of Caldes, was captured at 11pm last night not far from where she had met the 26-year-old running enthusiast.
The area is that of the Val Meledrio forest, always lateral to the Val di Sole near a stream. At the time of capture, or since it entered the tube trap attracted by the aroma of fruit, its three ‘big puppies of 35-40 kilograms of weight which, according to Trentino foresters, are self-sufficient. In recent days, the plantigrade had shown clear signs of aggression, destroying the camera traps distributed throughout the area by foresters to monitor its movements.
The Autonomous Province declined to provide location details to avoid “a tourist attraction” as it is an area inhabited by bears and litters. Currently the bear ‘Jj4’ is located at the Casteller wildlife center in Trento Sud where ‘M49’, the specimen ‘globetrotter’, author of escapes and nicknamed ‘Papillon’ by the former Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa .
The bear ‘Jj4’, 17 years old, is the daughter of Joze and Jurka, specimens from Slovenia in the early 2000s. Raffaele De Col, general manager of the Civil Protection, Forestry and Wildlife Department of the Province of Trento, gave some information on last night’s capture.
“It wasn’t about catching a single bear since there are more than 20 plantigrades in the area but of a selective work, of patience and also complicated given the presence of the three puppies in the weaning phase – explained De Col -. Two of them entered the pipe trap together with their mother, and were then released in good health, while the third remained outside. The puppies are completely self-sufficient and autonomous.”
According to the foresters, “we are in the weaning phase, after which the females tend to have new mating phases and in this moment the aggressiveness of the animal is very high”. De Col then added, “there were two tube traps installed in the area and to give an idea of the danger of these animals, ‘Jj4’ destroyed the camera traps placed as well as the warning signs”.
Now, the bear ‘Jj4’ awaits the outcome of the decision of the Administrative Court of Trento which, after suspending the culling order of the president of the Autonomous Province, Maurizio Fugattialso rejected the request formulated by the Province itself to bring forward the hearing on the merits for the abatement from 11 May to 20 April.
As breaking latest news learned from Lav Italia, the Tar of the capital of Trentino has asked Ispra for further documentation and for an opinion on the transfer of the bear ‘Jj4’. The Anti-Vivisection League has announced that it will be in Trento tomorrow because it intends to meet Fugatti and go to the Casteller center “to check Jj4’s conditions of detention and health“.
As revealed by De Col if the TAR were to give the green light to proceed with the killing of the animal“the tool that we have identified together with the supporting veterinarians is euthanasia, a less bloody method than shooting”.
Fugatti: “It could have been taken as early as 2020”
“Congratulations to those who have worked in recent weeks, when there is a desire to capture dangerous animals we have shown speed and that our structures are able to capture dangerous animals quickly”, said the president of the Province of Trento, Maurizio Fugatti, during the press conference during which some details were given regarding the capture of the bear.
“It was news that we would have liked to give in 2020, when we asked to capture ‘Jj4’ but we couldn’t do it – added Fugatti -. Today there is satisfaction but bitterness and sadness for what happened in the meantime”.
With regard to the culling order currently suspended by the Trento TAR, Fugatti said, “we have delivered the documentation that the TAR has requested of us and if the TAR grants what we have written, we will proceed with the culling order”.
“Now ‘Jj4′ is no longer a problem for us but the human-animal coexistence. Those who love the project don’t think about this she-bear anymore but help us transfer the supernumerary specimens”, underlined Fugatti. Looking to the bears’ future, the Northern League governor added, ‘Today the Committee on Public Order and Safety is convened where we will focus attention on two problem bears,’Mj5‘ for which there is already a favorable opinion from Ispra for the demolition, e M62 against which we will ask for the abatement”.
Responding to a question on the proposal of Lav Italy to transfer the bear ‘Jj4’, from this night locked up in the Casteller wildlife center, the structure in South Trento where the well-known specimen ‘M49’ (the bear of daring escapes) is also found, Fugatti replied , “for Lav the offer of 70 bears is always valid, we have another 70 specimens, we are waiting for proposals and those who care about ‘Jj4’ make ideology, those who love this project Life Ursus help us transfer the other bears, If you believe in its continuation and I recall we’ve had eight attacks in the last few years, the number of bears is overestimated.”
Surveillance of the Casteller has been strengthened
Meanwhile, the surveillance of the Casteller wildlife center in Trento Sud has been strengthened and is a place “at risk” after the capture of the bear. Both external and internal surveillance will be intensified by the forces of order and the forestry. The reason is linked to the announced protests by animal welfare associations.
Lollobrigida: “Safeguarding biodiversity but also man”
The Minister of Agriculture and food sovereignty. “I don’t expect to intervene on an issue that does not concern my ministry. There are rules in Italy, we need to take note – said Francesco Lollobrigida – of what must be the safeguarding of our biodiversity on the one hand, and of a coexistence that it must ensure that all species, including humans, survive. With respect to this, the existing rules must be implemented in a direction that those who wait for them must follow”