Bruno the bear sparks EU fall out

The Italian environment minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio has formally complained to the EU over the killing of “Bruno the bear”.

Public outcry followed the decision to kill the two-year-old brown bear, that made its way from the Adamello-Brenta nature reserve in Italy's northern Trentino to Bavaria in southern Germany in May.

Bruno wandered the region weeks for weeks, feeding on sheep, goats, poultry and rabbits on farms.

But the bear was shot dead by members of the local hunting association on Monday - at the orders of Austrian and German officials after attempts to capture it alive failed.

“The shooting has happened - the bear is dead," Manfred Wölfl, the Bavarian government's bear specialist declared.

But the move has provoked much anger in Rome.

“An EU which calls upon the whole world to save protected species and at the same time shoots bears with shot guns is simply not credible,” Scanio declared on Wednesday.

Scanio insisted that the protected species should have been shot with tranquilizers and transported back to Italy.

The Italian news agency Apcom said Scanio complained that his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, appeared to be unaware of Rome’s offer to send specialists to capture and repatriate Bruno.

"We consider the shooting of the bear to be very serious and irresponsible. It was a protected species that was being reintroduced in Italy," Scanio told reporters.

And Bruno’s death has not only threatened diplomatic relations - Italians have also begun canceling holidays in Germany in protest.

Meanwhile the Italian state’s forestry unit has named its new helicopter “Bruno the bear” – in memory of the beloved beast.

“The helicopter will be used to fight forest fires,” the Italian authorities said in a statement.

• Previous article
• Next article