Italian prosecutors said a bear that killed a 26-year-old runner in the Alps last week previously attacked two other people.
Local authorities have asked for the animal to be put down after the attack on Andrea Papi, whose body was found on April 6 in the region of Trentino-Alto Adige.
They had applied for the bear to be euthanised in 2020, when it attacked a father and son near the same area but a court ruling overturned the decision at that time.
The incident has reopened a debate on human-wildlife conflict in an area that was re-populated with bears, which are a protected species in Italy, from 1999 under an EU-funded programme.
Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin met local authorities on Tuesday to discuss a response to the attack, including the use of anti-aggression sprays as well as the mass relocation of Trentino’s bear population to other Italian regions or even abroad.
The bear population in Trentino has surged from three to approximately 100, according to data provided by the province, since the species was reintroduced in the region about two decades ago.
