Vets say they will refuse to put down bear that killed jogger in Italy

Petition to spare bear’s life hits 300,000 signatures

(PA)

A nationwide row has erupted in Italy after vets threatened to refuse to put down a bear that killed a jogger, whose body was found mutilated by deep claw and bite wounds.

A sniffer dog located the body of Andrea Papi, 26, in early April by following a long trail of blood that led into the forest above his house in the Alpine province of Trento.

Authorities in Trento said the bear – a 17-year-old female identified as JJ4 – was captured last Tuesday using a tube trap and taken to an enclosure in a wildlife park in Castellar, sparking a row over whether the animal should be put down or spared.