Rome, May 9, (dpa/GNA) – The Italian animal welfare association, Leal, contends that authorities have blamed the wrong bear for the deadly attack on a jogger in the mountains of northern Italy, in early April.
The group submitted the opinion of two veterinarians to a court in Trento, that the female bear named JJ4, which was captured after the attack, cannot be responsible for the fatal attack on the 26-year-old man.
The bear responsible for the attack was instead an adult male bear, the veterinarians argued, based in part on the distance between canine teeth in the bite wounds on the man, which are typical of a male bear.
The group said the attack on the jogger was also due to a “protracted attempt by the bear to drive away and deter the victim.”
The animal protection association is demanding the release of JJ4, and the resignation of Trentino regional president Maurizio Fugatti, who ordered the capture and killing of the bear.
The parents of the killed jogger reacted to the report with outrage. Speaking through their attorneys, the parents said the group’s purported reconstructions of the attack are “imaginative and incredible.”
The parents again asked for respect and understanding, but have been confronted with “criticism and unacceptable provocations,” according to their lawyers.
The provincial government, led by Fugatti, has twice ordered JJ4 to be killed. But the orders have been overturned by a court in Trento both times.
The fate of the bear is expected to be decided at a court hearing on May 25.
GNA