"I feel guilty"

Attacked tourist regrets killing bear KJ1

A brown bear

(Bild: P. Huber)

The tourist who was attacked and injured by a female bear in Trentino in northern Italy on July 16 has now spoken out about her killing. "I'm really sad that our encounter cost her her life. I feel guilty," said the 43-year-old Frenchman.

The bear had "only wanted to protect her cubs". "I would have hoped that compromises could have been found to guarantee the safety of people without jeopardizing the preservation of biodiversity," said the man, who has been back in France for a few days. He had learned about the killing of the bear KJ1 from media reports.

As reported, the man had been attacked and injured by KJ1 in Trentino in northern Italy on July 16. The attack has left its mark on him. "Yesterday I was able to go for a walk in the forest for the first time, which did me a lot of good, even if I still feel a fear that I didn't have before," the 43-year-old told the Trentino daily newspaper "T quotiadiano" on Thursday.

"Reduce encounters"
For example, he gets scared when he suddenly encounters a wild animal. The man, who is now back in France, hopes that preventative measures will be taken in future to reduce encounters between humans and wild animals.

The bear KJ1 was located by rangers on Tuesday using a transmitter around her neck and then killed (see video above). She was over 20 years old and roamed the woods with three or four cubs. Her shooting sparked protests from animal rights activists. Italian Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin also criticized the killing.

Here you can see a tweet from an Italian animal welfare organization.

Population to be contained
A draft law was recently approved in Trentino with the aim of curbing the population. Up to eight animals per year may be killed. According to the latest estimates, more than 100 bears live in the area. Originally, only 50 were to be settled.