Press
A surveillance camera on Lake Garda films four bears. Since a fatal attack, there has been heated debate about the animals in Trentino.
Arco – In Trentino in Italy, many people have a justified fear of bears. Local residents and politicians have been discussing possible solutions since a fatal bear attack on a hiker. One expert suggested a controversial solution. Now a surveillance camera has again recorded the predators, but this time four at once. Near Lake Garda, a camera in a garden filmed a mother and three cubs.
Mayor of town near Lake Garda posts bear surveillance video
The bear and her cubs were above the town of Varignano in the municipality of Arco. Specifically, the images were taken at 5:13 a.m. on June 26, 2024. The mayor of Arco, Alessandro Betta, made the images public in a Facebook video. With this step, he wanted to inform and not stir up alarmism, as he himself explained. The authorities warn residents to be careful and take measures to ensure their safety.
Mayor’s controversial decision to post the video of the bears
This decision by the mayor provoked many comments. who seems to have local knowledge, judges that the place is “an unurbanized mountain area.” Bears are “completely normal there, let’s maybe avoid hysteria,” he suggests.
Another user also criticised the mayor: “Those who don’t want to raise the alarm don’t publish these videos. Have politicians and the press in Trentino had other arguments recently?” Bears even recently “laid siege” to a polling station in a village on Lake Garda.
Users admire bears in Arco: “What a beautiful litter”
The new video of the four bears spread quickly. In it you can see how first the three cubs and then the mother walk through the garden. When the mother climbs over a stone wall, the cubs follow her.
A bear was also spotted in the streets of Arco in mid-June 2023. However, there is not only criticism of the mayor in the comments: other users on Facebook are simply happy to be able to admire such an animal: “What a beautiful litter walking with mom,” they say, or “Nature is so wonderful.”
“Exponentially increasing” bear problem in Trentino
Others view the event more critically. Bears are “a problem that increases exponentially with each season.” Another comment states: “Unfortunately, people do not understand the seriousness of these events.” Trentino now wants to change the hunting laws because of the bear incidents.
Another Facebook user also pointed out that everyone loves animals “as long as the bear is roaming around in someone else’s garden. I would love to see you if you found it in your home, maybe even children playing in the garden.”
The “problem bear” JJ4 is to be relocated to Germany
Most recently, there was a stir about a certain bear in Trentino. According to the provincial government, the “problem bear” JJ4 from the northern Italian province is to be relocated to a bear reserve in Germany. It was she who attacked and killed a 26-year-old jogger in a forest not far from Trento in April 2023. The move will be completed by autumn, as the responsible assessor Roberto Failoni told the newspaper Trentino News said. JJ4 will be taken to the Alternative Bear Park Worbis in Thuringia.
Since the fatal incident, the provincial government, headed by regional president Maurizio Fugatti, and animal rights activists have been arguing in court over the fate of the bear. The province ordered the animal to be killed. After urgent applications from animal rights activists, the courts stopped the decree. JJ4 was caught alive and temporarily taken to an enclosure near Trento. The new video of the four bears now shows that she is far from the only bear in Trentino. (cgsc with dpa)
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