Italian Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin hopes to save the life of problem bear JJ4, who was caught in Trentino on Tuesday.
“I hope that we will be able to find a resettlement solution somewhere,” the minister said today in an interview with radio station Radio anch’io. At the same time, he spoke out in favor of relocating bears abroad.
“120 Bears Where There Should Be 40”
“We have to find a place to bring the bear,” the minister said. The killing of JJ4 is not the solution for the coexistence of the population with the bears in Trentino. JJ4 had killed a 26-year-old jogger two weeks ago in Caldes in Trentino’s Val di Sole.
“The issue that this very serious incident brought to our attention is that there are 120 bears where there should only be 40. They were settled following a local human-made decision made for tourism purposes.
Then the project spiraled out of control. The bears have multiplied disproportionately and now the situation needs to be put right again. That means a resettlement and expansion plan with more territories. The problem exists,” said the minister.
