An endangered brown bear in Italy was shot dead on Thursday by a man who said he did the same out of fear. The marsican brown bear died on the outskirts of the town of San Benedetto dei Marsi in the mountainous Abruzzo region.
The slain animal had been nicknamed “Amarena” after black cherries that she loved eating. She was often spotted roaming in Italian towns with her two cubs.
The shooter was identified by the local police after the death of the bear sparked an outrage from local politicians and animal rights advocates.
Park rangers continued making efforts to locate the dead bear’s cubs, amid fears for their survival.
In his statement, the shooter said he had seen Amarena roaming on his property and hence shot her dead in fear.
Amarena’s four-year-old marsican bear, popular as ‘Juan Carrito’, was fatally struck by a car earlier this year. The cub had earned national fame two years ago after it broke into a bakery and munched on cookies.
In April this year, another bear killed a 26-year-old runner in northern Italy, sparking a legal debate between local authorities who wanted to kill the bear, and environmental groups who want to save it.
Hunting bears is against the law in Italy.
www.indiatoday.in
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