Italy reported to EC for death of rare brown bear Daniza

(ANSA) - Brussels, October 1 - Italian environmentalists and animal welfare organizations on Wednesday reported Italy to the European Commission for failing to protect a rare brown bear killed last month by a tranquilizer.
    The complaint highlighted a "contradiction" between the death of the 8-year-old female brown bear known as Daniza, and the fact that Italy accepted some eight million euros from the European Union to protect endangered species.
    Daniza died on September 11 after an overdose of anaesthetic administered during an operation to capture her in the autonomous province of Trento in Italy's northern Dolomites mountains.
    Her death left her two small cubs orphaned.
    Trento provincial authorities had ordered the bear to be captured in August after she cuffed a mushroom picker who allegedly came between her and her two young cubs, born this year.
    Daniele Maturi, 38, was admitted to hospital with cuts and scratches to his arms and legs after being attacked in mid-August while searching for mushrooms in the woods near Pinzolo, about 100 km from Trento in northern Italy.
    He said the bear seemed "crazy" but environmentalists say Daniza was likely only trying to defend her cubs by frightening the intruder.
    Following the incident, forest rangers wrote to the environment ministry and Trento authorities expressing concern about plans to capture and isolate the bear without her offspring.
    Depriving the cubs of their mother would mean leaving them unable to feed, find shelter, and protect themselves from predators, the rangers said.
    Environmentalists raised similar concerns.
    "There is a total contradiction between Europe's program to reintroduce the brown bear and the behavior of Trento authorities, who took European funds but appear incapable of maintaining their commitments, which are to protect the brown bear and its habitat," environmentalists said.
    "This is a clear case of waste of European taxpayer money," they said. Through a program called Life Ursus, about 10 brown bears were reintroduced in Trento, near Italy's borders with Switzerland and Austria, about 20 years ago after being driven out of the forested region. The report was filed by Green Italia and the European Green Party, the European Enforcement Network of Animal Welfare Lawyers and Commissioners, and animal welfare groups LEAL, OIPA and Associazione Animalisti.