Andrea Papi was killed in a bear attack in northern Italy.
A bear was caught and sentenced to death.
But more and more people are claiming that it is the wrong bear – and are now demanding that the female bear JJ4 be released immediately.
26-year-old Andrea Papi, known in the Italian media as “the jogger”, was found dead in early April after a bear attack during a run near his home in Caldes in Trentino.
A week or so later, the 17-year-old female bear JJ4 was captured. Analyzes – similar to those carried out by a forensic technician after a murder – pointed to her as guilty.
The Minister: A murderer can go free
So far, there were no, or few, question marks.
But, in Italy – where the bear question is reminiscent of the Swedish wolf question; with animal rights activists and the big city against farmers and rural areas – as is often the case, there is a but.
The planned cull has sparked protests from activists across Italy and at the eleventh hour the animal rights organization Leal has presented new evidence which they believe exonerates JJ4.
They claim that the bite marks on Andrea Papi’s body must have come from a male. JJ4 is a female. “Innocently locked up”, was the headline of the right-wing newspaper Libero on Tuesday. “If JJ4 is innocent, it means that a murderer goes free,” exclaimed the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Loollobrigida, the other day.
The decision whether or not JJ4 – who is being held captive – should be euthanized has now been postponed until May 25. Then a court in Trentino will decide her fate.
The family: An attack from keyboard lions
Those who seem to care the least about the future of the female bear JJ4, or Gaia as the activists call her, are the relatives of the “jogger”, Andrea Papi. As his death has come to involve all of Italy and the issue has become increasingly infected, their lawyers have rallied against the hate that has spread online after their son’s death.
The parents write in a statement that “our son now dies a second time, but not in a bear attack but in an attack from the lions at his keyboards”.