Govt OKs amendments authorizing anti-bear spray

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 26 - The government has given its backing to identical amendments presented by coalition partners League and Brothers of Italy (FdI) authorizing use by forestry police in the northeastern regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige of pepper spray to defend themselves against possible bear attacks, Ansa learned on Friday.
    The amendments are to be included in a package of measures on the public administration and will be put to the vote in the Lower House Constitutional Affairs and Labor committees starting next Tuesday.
    Earlier this month the interior ministry said it supported the introduction of a law allowing forestry police to carry special repellent as a deterrent against aggressive behaviour by bears.
    Bear spray "is used in several countries in areas where bears are present to avoid the use of firearms, which seems excessive," Minister for Relations with Parliament Luca Ciriani told the Lower House, adding that the spray amounts to a weapon and should only be used by specialized and specially trained personnel.
    Bear management in Italy became a hot topic in April after a female tagged as Jj4 attacked and killed a 26-year-old trail runner, Andrea Papi, on Mount Peller in the northern autonomous province of Trento.
    His death and the resulting tug-of-war between the provincial authorities and judiciary over an order for the bear to be captured and put down has divided public opinion and prompted tough questions about the coexistence between wildlife and humans. (ANSA).